EU Commission approves Finnforest Corporation's majority holding in Moelven Industrier ASA of Norway
20.07.01
Finnforest Corporation BULLETIN 1 (3) Corporate Communications/jpv 18 July 2001 EU COMMISSION APPROVES FINNFOREST CORPORATION'S MAJORITY HOLDING IN MOELVEN INDUSTRIER ASA OF NORWAY - The new entity will be Europe's largest company in the mechanical forest industry. The EU Commission has approved the business combination of Finnforest Corporation and Moelven Industrier ASA of Norway. The companies' geographical market areas and product groups complement each other and will not cause problems from the standpoint of competition law. In order for the deal to go though, a licence must obtained from Norway's Ministry of Trade and Industry. The acquisition of a majority shareholding in Moelven will make Finnforest the Nordic market leader and by turnover Europe's biggest producer of mechanical forest products. Finnforest's and Moelven's combined turnover will be nearly € 2 billion. The entity created by the business combination will be a major player within wood-based building systems. As a producer of sawn timber, gluelam and plywood, it will be Europe's second-biggest. The Finnforest product range comprises sawn timber, plywood, Kerto LVL (laminated veneer lumber), gluelam and I-beams and joists. Finnforest has sales companies in sixteen European countries as well as in the USA and China. The Group is the largest supplier to the DIY sector in Great Britain and it occupies a major position in the DIY market in France and Germany. Moelven produces ordinary and further-processed sawn timber and building-system products. It also specialises in on the use of wood for building purposes. Finnforest's Building Systems Business Area with its roof, floor and wall systems as well as the Silva spectator-stand concept will be further strengthened through the addition of Moelven's wood-component panels and other building-systems products as well as its interior-decoration materials. Moelven's gluelam products in combination with Finnforest's Kerto LVL and gluelam ranges will create Europe's most important family of products for use in building. Finnforest Corporation Finnforest Corporation is a growing international concern. Its core business is the production and marketing of processed wood products, plywood and sawn timber. Industrial end-users, DIY stores, timber merchants and building-supplies companies are the main customer groups. Finnforest is Europe's leading provider of solutions and services involving the use of wood and wood products. Its strategy is to give customers ever-improving services by broadening its product range. A part of the Metsäliitto Group, Finnforest Corporation operates in 20 countries and has over 4,000 employees and annual turnover of € 1.3 billion. Finnforest will publish its interim report for January-June 2001 on 1 August 2001. Metsäliitto Group The Metsäliitto Group is a forest-products manufacturer whose core businesses are the processing of mechanical wood products for the building sector as well as paper, packaging materials and pulp. It had turnover in 2000 of € 7.5 billion and a payroll of more than 32,000 employees. Line management is handled through the subsidiaries. The Group operates in Europe and markets its products on all continents. Its wood procurement network covers the whole of Finland. Its parent company is Metsäliitto Osuuskunta, a cooperative body whose 127,400 members are private forest owners who use ecologically sound silvicultural methods to manage their family woodlands. Moelven Industrier ASA (public limited company) Moelven's main business segments are sawmilling, machined timber products and building-system products. The Moelven Building Group comprises two divisions, one responsible for building systems and the other for interior-decoration systems. The main products are solutions for modular industrial building and wood-based interior-decoration solutions. Norwegian and Swedish construction companies and builders form the biggest customer segment. The main markets are Norway and Sweden, which together account for over 70 per cent of turnover. Moelven had turnover in 2000 of 4.7 billion Norwegian kroner (approx. € 613 million). The company reported operating profit of 223 million (€ 27.35 million) and ROCE of 15.3%. The equity ratio was 37.5%. The company's nearly 40 units in Norway and Sweden employ 3,100 people. Moelven was founded in 1899 and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in 1981. For further information, contact: Finnforest Corporation, President & CEO Ari Martonen, tel. +358 50 2406 Finnforest Corporation, Bo Borgström, Senior Vice President, Engineered Wood Division, tel. +358 400 714 311