Information on ongoing preliminary investigation related to hunting

Holmen is one of the largest owners of forests in Sweden and hunting is an important part of forestry management in order to limit the damages from grazing. It is natural and customary for forest companies to include hunting events in connection with representation. In Holmen such events only constitute a small portion of the hunts. According to tradition, representatives of the management of Holmen have for a long time served as hosts for hunting events with invited participants. Fredrik Lundberg, the chairman of the Board of Holmen has, since he became the chairman of the Board almost 22 years ago, hosted two to three of Holmen’s hunting events per year. Individuals from Holmen’s network have been invited to these events, which all have taken place in the region of Norrköping, Sweden, where Holmen has extensive operations. Employees of Holmen have also taken part in the hunts.

Since 2015 there is an ongoing preliminary investigation regarding some of the hunting events  arranged by Holmen and hosted by Fredrik Lundberg in his capacity as chairman of the Board. A hearing, with serving of reasonable suspicion of giving a bribe in relation to hunting events arranged by Holmen, was today held with Fredrik Lundberg in his capacity as host.

Holmen is of the opinion that neither the company nor Fredrik Lundberg has contravened applicable rules. Holmen has provided the information requested in the preliminary investigation and continues to cooperate with the prosecutor.

For further information please contact:
Henrik Sjölund, President and CEO, Holmen, tel. +46 8 666 21 05

This information is information that Holmen AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, on 26 January 2017 at 21.30 CET.

Holmen is a forest industry group that manufactures paperboard, paper and wood products and runs forestry and energy production operations. In 2015 Holmen’s net sales were SEK 16 billion and the group has approx. 3,300 employees. Holmen’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, Large Cap. For more information, visit www.holmen.com