M-real plans to divest the Premium Paper business

M-real Corporation Press Release on 12 April 2011 at 11.00 EET

M-real Corporation, part of Metsäliitto Group, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding a divestment of the Premium Paper business to a sister company of Papierwerke Lenk AG. The divestment would include the complete Premium Paper business and related assets as well as about 100 M-real’s employees.

Premium Paper products are used in high quality graphical end-uses, such as letterhead, brochures, books, calendars and envelopes. M-real will continue the carbonless business at the Reflex mill.

If the transaction is consummated as planned M-real books a negative EUR 12 million non-recurring item in Speciality Papers business area. Cash impact would be approximately EUR 1 million negative. The planned divestment does not have a material impact on M-real’s operating result. The transaction is expected to be closed during the 2Q 2011.

“The planned divestment of the Premium Papers is a natural step in M-real’s strategy and a proof of M-real’s capability to divest its non-core paper business consistently. We are satisfied with the good solution in which the Premium Paper business will be transferred to the new owner who can focus to develop this segment successfully in the future,” says Mikko Helander, CEO of M-real.

In October 2010, M-real sold the paper machine 5 and some related assets at the Reflex site to Metsä Tissue.

Papierwerke Lenk AG is a German Black Forest based paper producer with sales of approximately 35.000 tonnes of specialty papers (www.lenk.de).

For further information, please contact:

Matti Mörsky, CFO, tel. +358 10 465 4913
Juha Laine, Vice President, Investor Relations and Communications, tel. +358 10 465 4335