Metsäliitto Osuuskunta
Metsä Group intends to divest Metsä Wood’s timber upgrading operations in France to mutares AG

DGAP-News: Metsäliitto Osuuskunta

2015-06-25 / 10:00

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Metsä Group Press Release 25 June 2015


Metsä Group's parent company Metsäliitto Cooperative has reached an
understanding with mutares on the divestment of the entire share capital of
Metsä Wood France SAS. mutares submitted an irrevocable offer to Metsäliitto
Cooperative and the contemplated transaction will now be subject to the
information and consultation process of employee representatives of Metsä Wood
France. 

With the contemplated transaction Metsä Wood would discontinue the upgrading
and distribution operations in France and the employees of Honfleur and
Boulleville units, a total of 115 employees, would automatically transfer to
the buyer. Metsä Wood's sales operation of sawn timber, plywood and Kerto LVL
products would continue in France. As a part of the contemplated transaction,
the parties will agree on commercial cooperation in the supply of sawn timber
for the upgrading operations. 

Contemplated transaction will support Metsä Wood's industrial efficiency
strategy enabling Metsä Wood to focus on its core businesses - industrial scale
production and sales of Nordic sawn timber, plywood and Kerto LVL as well as
the timber upgrading and distribution operations in the UK. 

The contemplated transaction is estimated to have a negative non-recurring
impact of approximately EUR 20 million on Metsä Group's Q2/2015 operating
result. The contemplated transaction is estimated to be completed at the end of
October 2015 at the latest. 


METSÄ GROUP
Group Communications

For further information, please contact:
Henrik Söderström, SVP, Timber and Upgrades, Metsä Wood, tel. +358 40 577 3421


www.metsagroup.com

Metsä Group is a responsible forest industry group whose products' main raw
material is wood from northern, sustainably managed forests. Metsä Group
focuses on tissue and cooking papers, fresh forest fibre paperboards, pulp,
wood products, and wood supply and forest services. Its high-quality products
combine renewable raw materials, customer-orientation, sustainable development
and innovation. Metsä Group's sales totalled EUR 5 billion in 2014, and it
employs approximately 10,500 people. The Group operates in some 30 countries.
Metsäliitto Cooperative is the parent company of Metsä Group and is owned by
approximately 122,000 Finnish forest owners. 


www.metsawood.com

Metsä Wood provides competitive and environmentally friendly wood products for
construction, industrial customers and distributor partners. We manufacture
products from northern wood, a sustainable raw material of premium quality. Our
sales in 2014 were EUR 0.9 billion, and we employ about 2,300 people. Metsä
Wood is part of Metsä Group.
News Source: NASDAQ OMX



---------------------------------------------------------------------

2015-06-25 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements,
Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de

---------------------------------------------------------------------


Language:    English                 
Company:     Metsäliitto Osuuskunta  
 
 
             Finland                 
ISIN:        FI0002001611            
 
 
End of News    DGAP News-Service  
---------------------------------------------------------------------  
371933 2015-06-25