Stora Enso has completed the divestment of its Maxau paper production site in Germany, and all related assets to Schwarz Produktion, part of Schwarz Group. The divestment announced on 13 September 2022 was completed in early March after regulatory approvals. The enterprise value of the transaction is approximately €210m.
The transaction will reduce Stora Enso’s annual SC paper capacity by 530,000 tonnes. Based on the 2022 figures, the divestment is expected to reduce Stora Enso’s annual sales by approximately €385m. Subject to closing date adjustments, Stora Enso will book a one-time disposal gain of approximately €55m in its IFRS operating profit in the first quarter of 2023, considered as an item affecting comparability.
This transaction is part of the earlier announced plan to divest four of Stora Enso’s five paper production sites. The plan was concluded earlier this year when Stora Enso signed an agreement to divest its paper production site in Hylte and discontinued the Anjala site divestment process. The divestment of the Nymölla paper site in Sweden was completed on 2 January with ownership transferred to Sylvamo. In line with its strategy, Stora Enso’s focus is on long-term growth potential for its renewable products in packaging, building solutions and biomaterials innovations.