Finland's Stora Enso is planning to sell four of its five paper mills, the forestry group said on Tuesday.
'In line with Stora Enso’s strategy, paper is not a strategic growth area for the group,' the company said in a statement.
President and CEO of Stora Enso, Annica Bresky said, "Through divesting a majority of our paper assets, we are able to increase the focus on our defined strategic growth areas of renewable packaging, building solutions and biomaterials innovations.
"When assessing potential divestment options, we look for new ownership that will provide a sustainable long-term future for the sites and the people that work there."
Paper Mills
Stora is looking for buyers for its mills in Finland's Anjala (pictured), Germany's Maxau and Sweden's Hylte and Nymolla, while planning to keep its mill in Langerbrugge in Belgium.
Langerbrugge is being retained because it produces magazine paper from used cardboard cups, Stora spokeswoman Satu Harkonen told Reuters, adding that the site could later be converted to make cardboard although the company has no such plans yet.
Stora's paper division employs approximately 2,200 people and in 2021 generated €1.7 billion in revenue.
In January of this year, the Finnish pulp, paper and packaging-board maker said it was looking for possible merger and acquisition opportunities thanks to its strong balance sheet.
In the October-December quarter, the company's adjusted operating profit rose to €426 million ($475 million) from €118 million a year ago.
News by Reuters, additional reporting by ESM – your source for the latest packaging news. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
