Kemiart Liner business to be spun off from Metsä-Botnia

Kemiart Liner business to be spun off from Metsä-Botnia

M-real, UPM-Kymmene, Metsäliitto Osuuskunta and Metsä-Botnia have today entered
into a Letter of Intent on the spinning off of the Kemiart Liner business
operations of Metsä-Botnia into a company that will be independent of
Metsä-Botnia and have the same shareholding structure as Metsä-Botnia. 

Kemiart Liner is one of the world's leading producers of coated and uncoated
kraftliner. Kemiart Liner's annual board-producing capacity is 340 000 tonnes
and the mill employs about 150 people in Kemi, Finland. 

The arrangement will clarify Metsä-Botnia's strategic position as the pulp
resource company of its main shareholders, M-real and UPM-Kymmene. 

M-real and UPM-Kymmene have also agreed that they will start immediately to
investigate Kemiart Liner business's future strategy and shareholding structure
with the aim of implementing those decisions by the end of 2004. Under the
Letter of Intent, M-real, UPM-Kymmene and Metsäliitto Osuuskunta have agreed
that should no other solution concerning Kemiart Liner be reached, M-real will
have a purchase option on the Kemiart Liner shares which are owned by
UPM-Kymmene and Metsäliitto Osuuskunta, and UPM-Kymmene and Metsäliitto
Osuuskunta will similarly have an option to sell their stakes to M-real. The
options period will expire by the end of 2004. 

The final agreement connected with the arrangement will be carried out during
spring 2002, including the decisions by the authorities which are required for
the arrangement. 

For additional information please contact: Veli-Matti Mynttinen, Executive Vice
President & CFO, M-real Corporation, 
tel. +358 1046 94655, mobile +358 50 2895 

Heikki Sara, Executive Vice President, UPM-Kymmene Corporation,
tel. +358 204150040

Erkki Varis, President & CEO, Metsä-Botnia,
tel. +358 010 469 4671