Sappi to divest three European graphic paper mills to better expand into packaging

Sappi Limited concludes an agreement with AURELIUS Investment Lux One on the divesture of its Maastricht Mill in the Netherlands, its Stockstadt Mill in Germany and its Kirkniemi Mill in Finland.

Steve Binnie, CEO of Sappi, says, “We are very happy to have reached agreement with AURELIUS to take ownership of the three mills. Although they no longer fit in Sappi’s portfolio, they are strong assets with good people.

“The decision to sell these mills follows a detailed and thorough strategic review by Sappi in line with our group Thrive25 strategic focus. This includes reducing exposure to the graphic paper segment while expanding Sappi’s presence in segments including packaging and speciality papers, pulp and biomaterials. Recent investments across our South African, American and European operating businesses demonstrate this priority.”

The sale is expected to close in Q1 2023. The enterprise value of the sale amounts to approximately US$275 million.

The mills included in the sale:

Sappi Maastricht Mill produces 260,000 ton per annum (tpa) of coated woodfree paper and paperboard mainly sold to printers and packaging converters globally

Sappi Stockstadt Mill is an integrated pulp and paper mill located in Germany, producing 145,000 tpa of pulp which is used to produce 220,000 tpa of coated and uncoated woodfree paper mainly sold into the European print market.

Sappi Kirkniemi Mill is an integrated pulp and paper mill located in Finland, producing 300,000 tpa of bleached mechanical pulp which is used to produce approximately 750 000 tpa of a variety of coated mechanical paper grades used in the printed-publication industry globally.