EU green light for UPM purchases

Finland – Finnish paper producer UPM has completed the acquisitions of Myllykoski Oyj and Rhein Papier GmbH following approval from the European Commission. The two companies operate a total of seven publication paper mills in Germany, Finland and the USA which boast an annual production capacity of 2.8 million tonnes.

‘UPM has been very determined in implementing its long-term strategy of being the cost leader in the European paper industry and the global leader in magazine papers,’ comments UPM’s President and CEO Jussi Pesonen. ‘Consolidation and restructuring are the best way to make fundamental improvements in terms of cost efficiency and to create value in the paper business. Our position as a frontrunner in the industry enables us to make a step-change in the profitability of our paper business.’ UPM has announced a preliminary estimate of annual cost synergies in excess of Euro 100 million. Work on identifying these synergies is on-going and an announcement will be made at the latest by mid-September, according to Jyrki Ovaska, President of UPM’s Paper Business Group. He also underlined the company’s desire to grow ‘in China and other emerging markets’.