METSÄ TISSUE ACQUIRES MAJORITY SHAREHOLDING IN POLISH TISSUE PRODUCTS CONVERTER KRAPEX

METSÄ TISSUE ACQUIRES MAJORITY SHAREHOLDING IN POLISH TISSUE PRODUCTS CONVERTER KRAPEX On 2 April 2003, Metsä Tissue Corporation acquired 38 per cent of the shares of the Polish tissue products converter Krapex Sp.zoo, having previously received the necessary approval from the Polish competition authority and Poland's Ministry of the Interior. The price of the shares was EUR 0.8 million and was based on the (100%) debt-free value of the whole of Krapex, which is around EUR 3 million. Metsä Tissue already owned 47 per cent of the company, and the share acquisition now brings its interest in Krapex to 85 per cent. Krapex will be consolidated into Metsä Tissue's accounts with effect from April 2003. Krapex is situated in Krapkowice in southern Poland, immediately next to Metsä Tissue's Krapkowice production plant. Krapex produces bathroom tissue, paper towels and industrial wipes for the away-from-home market. In 2002, Krapex had a turnover of around EUR 10 million and the company made a profit. The acquisition will have a slight positive impact on Metsä Tissue's earnings per share for 2003. The acquisition of Krapex makes Metsä Tissue Poland's biggest producer of tissue products for the away-from-home market and raises Metsä Tissue's share of the total Polish market for converted tissue products to around 20 per cent. Metsä Tissue's brand names on the Polish away- from-home market are Katrin and Saga. METSÄ TISSUE CORPORATION Lars Warvne President and CEO For more information: Lars Warvne, President and CEO, gsm +46 70 572 8921 Timo Suuriniemi, Chief Financial Officer, tel. +358 10 469 4580, gsm +358 50 560 8271 Distribution: HEX/Helsinki Exchanges Key media ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net