Ahlstrom to Sell Paulinia Wipes Plant in Brazil to Suominen

Ahlstrom Corp., Finland, will sell its shares of Brazil-based Ahlstrom Fabricação de Não-Tecidos Ltda to Suominen, also of Finland. Ahlstrom sold its wipes business, the Home and Personal business area, to Suominen in 2011, but the transfer of the Paulínia plant in Brazil (a producer of wipes) was prolonged due to delays in certain required official permissions and subsequent renegotiations between Suominen and Ahlstrom. The enterprise value of the transaction is agreed at EUR 17.5 million. Suominen will finance the acquisition through a convertible hybrid bond issue with a nominal value of EUR 17.5 million.

The Paulinia plant is located approximately 120 km northwest of São Paulo. It was built in 2008 and employs approximately 40 people. All employees will be transferred to Suominen at the closing of the transaction, which is expected to take place this month.

"We are very pleased that the transfer of Ahlstrom Paulínia and consequently the divestment of our wipes business to Suominen will now be completed. In accordance with our new strategy, Ahlstrom focuses on high performance fiber-based products that aim for a clean and healthy environment," said Jan Lång, president and CEO, Ahlstrom.