Metsä tissue acquisition gets go-ahead from poland's ministry of the interior

METSÄ TISSUE ACQUISITION GETS GO-AHEAD FROM POLAND'S MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR On 3 October 2002, Metsä Tissue Corporation received permission from Poland's Ministry of the Interior to purchase 9.9 per cent of the shares of the Polish tissue company Zaklady Papiernicze w Krapkowicach S.A. (ZPK). The shares were transferred to Metsä Tissue's ownership on 11 October 2002, bringing its stake in ZPK up to 50.3 per cent. The cost of the acquisition is based on the (100%) debt-free value of the whole of ZPK, which is approximately EUR 10 million. ZPK will be included in Metsä Tissue's consolidated financial statements from October 2002 onwards. The acquisition will have no material impact on Metsä Tissue's earnings per share for 2002. Metsä Tissue is vigorously developing all areas of its business operations. The development processes currently under way are aimed at substantially raising productivity, developing even better products and making marketing more efficient. In Poland, Metsä Tissue is seeking to raise the converting capacity of its production plants at Krapkowice and Warsaw, to improve product quality and to at least double productivity. Around EUR 15 million will be invested in developing business in Poland over the next two years. Metsä Tissue's long-range target in Poland is market leadership. At present, the company has almost 20 per cent of the Polish market in terms of volumes delivered, and is the biggest supplier to the Polish consumer market. Metsä Tissue's leading brand names in Poland are Mola on the consumer market and Katrin on the away-from-home market. METSÄ TISSUE CORPORATION Hannu Anttila President and CEO DISTRIBUTION HEX/Helsinki Exchanges Key media For more information: Hannu Anttila, President and CEO, tel. +358 10 469 4959, gsm +358 50 2398, and Timo Suuriniemi, Chief Financial Officer, tel. +358 10 469 4580, gsm +358 50 560 8271 ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/10/15/20021015BIT00120/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/10/15/20021015BIT00120/wkr0002.pdf