Strategic Value Partners, LLC, through Coniferous Bidco AB, controls 82.84 per cent of the shares in Nordic Paper Holding AB and extends the acceptance period one last time

This announcement is not an offer, whether directly or indirectly, in Australia, Belarus, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, South Africa or in any other jurisdictions where such offer pursuant to legislation and regulations in such relevant jurisdictions would be prohibited by applicable law. Shareholders not resident in Sweden who wish to accept the Offer (as defined below) must make inquiries concerning applicable legislation and possible tax consequences. Shareholders should refer to the offer restrictions included in the section titled "Important information" at the end of this announcement and in the Offer Document (as defined below). Shareholders in the United States should also refer to the section titled "Special notice to shareholders in the United States" at the end of this announcement.

On 11 October 2024, Strategic Value Partners, LLC[1] ("SVP"), through Coniferous Bidco AB[2] ("Coniferous Bidco"), announced a public offer to the shareholders of Nordic Paper Holding AB ("Nordic Paper") to tender all their shares to Coniferous Bidco at a price of SEK 50 in cash per share (the "Offer"). On 13 December 2024, Coniferous BidCo announced that the Offer was declared unconditional and that the acceptance period was extended to 20 December 2024. At the end of the extended acceptance period, the Offer has been accepted by shareholders to such extent that Coniferous Bidco will become the owner of approximately 82.84 per cent of the total number of shares and votes in Nordic Paper. In order to give the shareholders who have not yet accepted the Offer a possibility to accept the Offer, Coniferous Bidco has decided to extend the acceptance period further until 8 January 2025 at 15:00 CET. Coniferous Bidco will not extend the acceptance period for the Offer further.

Alexandre Mignotte, Managing Director at SVP, comments:

"We are grateful for the strong support the Offer has received, with approximately 83 per cent of the shares in Nordic Paper tendered to date. This will however significantly reduce the liquidity of the remaining shares as the free float is now substantially smaller. Therefore, to ensure that every shareholder who wishes to accept, has the opportunity to do so, we have decided to extend the acceptance period one last time until 8 January 2025, 15:00 CET. After this date, it will no longer be possible to accept the Offer."

During the initial acceptance period, which expired on 11 December 2024, the Offer had been accepted by shareholders representing 50,768,304 shares in Nordic Paper, corresponding to approximately 75.88 per cent of the total number of shares and votes. During the extended acceptance period, which expired on 20 December 2024, the Offer has been accepted by shareholders representing 4,662,076 additional shares in Nordic Paper, corresponding to approximately 6.97 per cent of the total number of shares and votes. Accordingly, the Offer has been accepted by shareholders representing 55,430,380 shares in Nordic Paper, corresponding to approximately 82.84 per cent of the total number of shares and votes in Nordic Paper.

As previously announced, Coniferous Bidco has, outside the Offer, acquired all warrants previously held by participants in Nordic Paper's incentive programs, in aggregate 802,000 warrants (the "Warrants"). Upon full exercise of the Warrants, they will result in 802,000 new shares and votes in Nordic Paper (approximately 1.18 per cent of the total number of shares and votes on a fully diluted basis).

Prior to the announcement of the Offer, neither Coniferous Bidco nor any closely related companies or closely related parties did own any shares or financial instruments in Nordic Paper that give financial exposure to Nordic Paper's shares.

Coniferous Bidco has not acquired any shares in Nordic Paper outside the Offer. In addition to the shares tendered during the initial acceptance period and the Warrants, Coniferous Bidco does not hold any financial instruments that provide a financial exposure to Nordic Paper's shares.

Settlement for shares tendered in the Offer no later than 20 December 2024 at 15:00 CET is expected to commence on or around 3 January 2025.

In order to give the shareholders who have not yet accepted the Offer a possibility to accept the Offer, Coniferous Bidco has decided to extend the acceptance period further until 8 January 2025 at 15:00 CET. Settlement for shares tendered in the Offer during the extended acceptance period is expected to commence around 14 January 2025. Coniferous Bidco will not extend the acceptance period for the Offer further.

Since the Offer is now unconditional, shareholders who have accepted the Offer, or shareholders who accept the Offer during the extended acceptance period, have no right to withdraw their acceptances.

During the extended acceptance period, Coniferous Bidco may acquire or agree to acquire shares in Nordic Paper.

Advisors

Rothschild & Co Nordic AB is financial advisor and Advokatfirman Schjødt and Kirkland & Ellis are legal advisors to Coniferous Bidco in connection with the Offer. DNB Markets, a part of DNB Bank ASA, Sweden Branch, acts as issuing agent in connection with the Offer.

Information about the Offer

Information about the Offer is made available at:

www.specialty-paper-offer.com

For enquiries, please contact:

Frida Malm, Fogel & Partners

Email: SVP@fogelpartners.se

Telephone: +46 (0)730 653 885 

For administrative questions regarding the Offer, please contact your bank or the nominee registered as holder of your shares.

The information in this press release was submitted for publication by Coniferous Bidco AB in accordance with the Takeover Rules. The information was submitted for publication on 27 December 2024 at 08:00 a.m. (CET).

Important information

This press release has been published in Swedish and English. In the event of any discrepancy in content between the two language versions, the Swedish version shall prevail.

The Offer is not being made, directly or indirectly, in or into Australia, Belarus, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore or South Africa or in any other jurisdiction where such offer would be prohibited by applicable law pursuant to legislation, restrictions and regulations in the relevant jurisdiction, by use of mail or any other communication means or instrumentality (including, without limitation, facsimile transmission, electronic mail, telex, telephone and the Internet) of interstate or foreign commerce, or of any facility of national securities exchange or other trading venue, of Australia, Belarus, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore or South Africa or in any other jurisdiction where such offer would be prohibited by applicable law pursuant to legislation, restrictions and regulations in the relevant jurisdiction, and the Offer cannot be accepted by any such use or by such means, instrumentality or facility of, in or from, Australia, Belarus, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore or South Africa or in any other jurisdiction where such offer would be prohibited by applicable law pursuant to legislation, restrictions and regulations in the relevant jurisdiction. Accordingly, this press release or any documentation relating to the Offer are not being and should not be sent, mailed or otherwise distributed or forwarded in or into Australia, Belarus, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore or South Africa or in any other jurisdiction where such offer would be prohibited by applicable law pursuant to legislation, restrictions and regulations in the relevant jurisdiction.

This press release is not being, and must not be, sent to shareholders with registered addresses in Australia, Belarus, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore or South Africa. Banks, brokers, dealers and other nominees holding shares for persons in Australia, Belarus, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore or South Africa must not forward this press release or any other document received in connection with the Offer to such persons.

The Offer, the information and documents contained in this press release are not being made and have not been approved by an "authorised person" for the purposes of section 21 of the UK Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (the "FSMA"). The communication of the information and documents contained in this press release is exempt from the restriction on financial promotions under section 21 of the FSMA on the basis that it is a communication by or on behalf of a body corporate which relates to a transaction to acquire shares in a body corporate and the object of the transaction may reasonably be regarded as being the acquisition of day to day control of the affairs of that body corporate within article 62 (sale of a body corporate) of the FSMA 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order"). In the United Kingdom, this communication and any other offer documents relating to the Offer is/will be distributed only to and directed only at persons (i) who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Order, (ii) falling within article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.") of the Order or (iii) to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). No communication in respect of the Offer must be acted on or relied on by persons who are not Relevant Persons. The Offer, any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is/will be available only in the United Kingdom to Relevant Persons and will be engaged in only with Relevant Persons. Recipients must not distribute, publish, reproduce, or disclose the Offer, information or documents contained in this press release, in whole or in part, to any other person.

Statements in this press release relating to future status or circumstances, including statements regarding future performance, growth and other trend projections and other benefits of the Offer, are forward-looking statements. These statements may generally, but not always, be identified by the use of words such as “anticipates”, “intends”, “expects”, “believes”, or similar expressions. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements due to many factors, many of which are outside the control of Coniferous Bidco and Nordic Paper. Any such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Coniferous Bidco has no obligation (and undertakes no such obligation) to update or revise any of them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except for in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. The reader should, however, consult any additional disclosures that Coniferous Bidco or Nordic Paper have made or may make.

Special notice to shareholders in the United States

The Offer described in this press release is made for the issued and outstanding shares of Nordic Paper, a company incorporated under Swedish law, and is subject to Swedish disclosure and procedural requirements, which may be materially different from those of the United States. The Offer is made in the United States pursuant to Section 14(e) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "U.S. Exchange Act") and Regulation 14E thereunder, to the extent applicable, and otherwise in compliance with the disclosure and procedural requirements of Swedish law, including with respect to withdrawal rights, the Offer timetable, notices of extensions, announcements of results, settlement procedures (including as regards to the time when payment of the consideration is rendered) and waivers of conditions, which may be different from requirements or customary practices in relation to U.S. domestic tender offers. The offeror’s ability to waive the conditions to the Offer (both during and after the end of the acceptance period) and the shareholders’ ability to withdraw their acceptances, may not be the same under a tender offer governed by Swedish law as under a tender offer governed by U.S. law. Holders of the shares in Nordic Paper domiciled in the United States (collectively, the "U.S. Holders") are encouraged to consult with their own advisors regarding the Offer.

Nordic Paper's financial statements and all financial information included herein, or any other documents relating to the Offer, have been or will be prepared in accordance with IFRS and may not be comparable to the financial statements or financial information of companies in the United States or other companies whose financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. The Offer is made to the U.S. Holders on the same terms and conditions as those made to all other shareholders of Nordic Paper to whom an offer is made. Any information documents, including the Offer Document, are being disseminated to U.S. Holders in English on a basis comparable to the method pursuant to which such documents are provided to Nordic Paper's other shareholders.

The Offer, which is subject to Swedish law, is being made to the U.S. Holders in accordance with the applicable U.S. securities laws and exemptions promulgated thereunder. To the extent the Offer is subject to U.S. securities laws, those laws only apply to U.S. Holders and thus will not give rise to claims on the part of any other person. The U.S. Holders should consider that the price for the Offer is being paid in SEK and that no adjustment will be made based on any changes in the exchange rate to U.S. dollars.

It may be difficult for Nordic Paper's shareholders to enforce their rights and any claims they may have arising under the U.S. federal or U.S state securities laws in connection with the Offer, since Nordic Paper and Coniferous Bidco are located in countries other than the United States, and some or all of their officers and directors may be residents of countries other than the United States. Nordic Paper's shareholders may not be able to sue Nordic Paper or Coniferous Bidco or their respective officers or directors in a non-U.S. court for violations of U.S. securities laws. Further, it may be difficult to compel Nordic Paper or Coniferous Bidco and/or their respective affiliates to subject themselves to the jurisdiction or judgment of a U.S. court.

To the extent permissible under applicable law and regulations, including pursuant to Rule 14e-5(b) of the U.S. Exchange Act, Coniferous Bidco and its affiliates or its brokers and its brokers' affiliates (acting as agents for Coniferous Bidco or its affiliates, as applicable) may from time to time and during the pendency of the Offer, and other than pursuant to the Offer, directly or indirectly purchase or arrange to purchase shares of Nordic Paper outside the United States, or any securities that are convertible into, exchangeable for or exercisable for such shares. These purchases may occur either in the open market at prevailing prices or in private transactions at negotiated prices, and information about such purchases will be disclosed by means of a press release or other means reasonably calculated to inform U.S. Holders of such information. In addition, in accordance with Rule 14e-5(b) of the U.S. Exchange Act, the financial advisors to Coniferous Bidco may also engage in ordinary course trading activities in securities of Nordic Paper, which may include purchases or arrangements to purchase such securities as long as such purchases or arrangements are in compliance with the applicable law. Any information about such purchases will be announced in Swedish and in a non-binding English translation available to the U.S. Holders through relevant electronic media if, and to the extent, such announcement is required under applicable Swedish or U.S. law, rules or regulations.

The receipt of cash pursuant to the Offer by a U.S. Holder may be a taxable transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes and under applicable U.S. state and local, as well as foreign and other, tax laws. Each shareholder is urged to consult an independent professional adviser regarding the tax consequences of accepting the Offer. Neither Coniferous Bido nor any of its affiliates and their respective directors, officers, employees or agents or any other person acting on their behalf in connection with the Offer shall be responsible for any tax effects or liabilities resulting from acceptance of this Offer.

NEITHER THE U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION NOR ANY U.S. STATE SECURITIES COMMISSION HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THE OFFER, PASSED ANY COMMENTS UPON THE MERITS OR FAIRNESS OF THE OFFER, PASSED ANY COMMENT UPON THE ADEQUACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THIS PRESS RELEASE OR PASSED ANY COMMENT ON WHETHER THE CONTENT IN THIS PRESS RELEASE IS CORRECT OR COMPLETE. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENCE IN THE UNITED STATES.

[1] SVP means investment funds and accounts directly or indirectly managed by Strategic Value Partners, LLC and its affiliates.