Stora Enso issues seven-year Eurobond and announces tender offer for its Eurobond maturing in 2014
STORA ENSO OYJ STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 29 February 2012 at 10.45 EET
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO OR TO ANY PERSON LOCATED OR RESIDENT IN THE UNITED STATES, ITS TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS (INCLUDING PUERTO RICO, THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS, GUAM, AMERICAN SAMOA, WAKE ISLAND AND THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS), ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES OR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (SEE "OFFER AND DISTRIBUTION RESTRICTIONS" BELOW)
Stora Enso is issuing a seven-year Eurobond under its EMTN (Euro Medium Term Note) programme and announcing a tender offer for its EUR 750 million Eurobond maturing in 2014. The size of the seven-year bond issued is expected be EUR 500 million.
Stora Enso also announces a tender offer to repurchase a portion of the 2014 bond issued in 2004 and tapped in 2009 with nominal value EUR 750 million. The intention is to repurchase an amount of the 2014 bond of up to the amount of new notes issued. The purchase price in the offer is equal to the interpolated mid-swaps rate + 130 basis points. The offer expires at 17.00 CET on 8 March 2012. The pricing of the offer will be determined on 9 March 2012 at or around 11.00 CET, and the settlement date is expected to be 13 March 2012.
Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and SEB are acting as Joint Bookrunners for the bond issue and as Dealer Managers on the tender offer. The proceeds of the offering will be used for general corporate purposes, including refinancing of the bond maturing in 2014.
For further information, please contact:
Kaarlo Höysniemi, VP, Group Treasury, tel. +358 2046 21037
Ulla Paajanen-Sainio, Head of Investor Relations, tel. +358 2046 21242
www.storaenso.com
www.storaenso.com/investors
Stora Enso is the global rethinker of the biomaterials, paper, packaging and wood products industry. We always rethink the old and expand to the new to offer our customers innovative solutions based on renewable materials. Stora Enso employs some 30 000 people worldwide, and our sales in 2011 amounted to EUR 11.0 billion. Stora Enso shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki (STEAV, STERV) and Stockholm (STE A, STE R). In addition, the shares are traded in the USA as ADRs (SEOAY) in the International OTCQX over-the-counter market.
STORA ENSO OYJ
OFFER AND DISTRIBUTION RESTRICTIONS
The distribution of this announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this announcement and/or the Tender Offer Memorandum comes are required by each of the Company, the Dealer Managers and the Tender Agent to inform themselves about, and to observe, any such restrictions. Neither this announcement nor the Tender Offer Memorandum constitutes (i) an offer to buy or a solicitation of an offer to sell the Notes (and tenders of Notes in the Offer will not be accepted from Noteholders) in any circumstances in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful or (ii) an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the New Notes. In those jurisdictions where the securities, blue sky or other laws require the Offer to be made by a licensed broker or dealer and either of the Dealer Managers or any of their respective affiliates is such a licensed broker or dealer in any such jurisdiction, the Offer shall be deemed to be made by such Dealer Manager or such affiliate, as the case may be, on behalf of the Company in such jurisdiction.
No action has been or will be taken in any jurisdiction in relation to the New Notes to permit a public offering of securities.
United States. The Offer is not being made, and will not be made, directly or indirectly, in or into, or by use of the mails of, or by any means or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce of, or of any facilities of a national securities exchange of, the United States. This includes, but is not limited to, facsimile transmission, electronic mail, telex, telephone, the internet and other forms of electronic communication. The Notes may not be tendered in the Offer by any such use, means, instrumentality or facility from or within the United States or by persons located or resident in the United States. Accordingly, copies of the Tender Offer Memorandum and any other documents or materials relating to the Offer are not being, and must not be, directly or indirectly, mailed or otherwise transmitted, distributed or forwarded (including, without limitation, by custodians, nominees or trustees) in or into the United States or to any persons located or resident in the United States. Any purported tender of Notes in the Offer resulting directly or indirectly from a violation of these restrictions will be invalid and any purported tender of Notes made by a person located in the United States or any agent, fiduciary or other intermediary acting on a non-discretionary basis for a principal giving instructions from within the United States will be invalid and will not be accepted.
Neither this announcement nor the Tender Offer Memorandum is an offer of securities for sale in the United States or to U.S. persons. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under, or an exemption from the registration requirements of, the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act). The New Notes have not been, and will not be, registered under the Securities Act or the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States, and may not be offered, sold or delivered, directly or indirectly, in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons. The purpose of this announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum is limited to the Offer and this announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum may not be sent or given to a person in the United States or otherwise to any person other than in an offshore transaction in accordance with Regulation S under the Securities Act.
Each holder of Notes participating in the Offer will represent that it is not located in the United States and is not participating in the Offer from the United States or it is acting on a non-discretionary basis for a principal located outside the United States that is not giving an order to participate in the Offer from the United States. For the purposes of this and the previous two paragraphs, United States means the United States of America, its territories and possessions (including Puerto Rico, the U.S Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Wake Island and the Northern Mariana Islands), any state of the United States of America and the District of Columbia.
Italy. None of the Offer, this announcement, the Tender Offer Memorandum and any other documents or materials relating to the Offer has been or will be submitted to the clearance procedures of the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) pursuant to Italian laws and regulations. The Offer is being carried out in the Republic of Italy (Italy) as an exempted offer pursuant to article 101-bis, paragraph 3-bis of the Legislative Decree No. 58 of 24 February 1998, as amended (the Financial Services Act) and article 35-bis, paragraph 3 of CONSOB Regulation No. 11971 of 14 May 1999, as amended (the Issuers' Regulation). Accordingly, the Offer is not available to investors located in Italy that do not qualify as qualified investors (investitori qualificati), as defined pursuant to Article 100 of the Financial Services Act and Article 34-ter, paragraph 1, letter b) of the Issuers' Regulation (Ineligible Italian Investors). Ineligible Italian Investors may not tender Notes in the Offer and none of this announcement, the Tender Offer Memorandum or any other documents or materials relating to the Offer or the Notes may be distributed or made available to Ineligible Italian Investors. Holders or beneficial owners of the Notes that are located in Italy and qualify as qualified investors (investitori qualificati) can tender Notes for purchase in the Offer through authorised persons (such as investment firms, banks or financial intermediaries permitted to conduct such activities in Italy in accordance with the Financial Services Act, CONSOB Regulation No. 16190 of 29 October 2007, as amended from time to time, and Legislative Decree No. 385 of 1 September 1993, as amended) and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations or with requirements imposed by CONSOB or any other Italian authority.
United Kingdom. The communication of this announcement, the Tender Offer Memorandum and any other documents or materials relating to the Offer is not being made, and such documents and/or materials have not been approved, by an authorised person for the purposes of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Accordingly, such documents and/or materials are not being distributed to, and must not be passed on to, the general public in the United Kingdom. The communication of such documents and/or materials as a financial promotion is only being made to, and may only be acted upon by, those persons in the United Kingdom falling within the definition of investment professionals (as defined in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the Financial Promotion Order)) or persons who are within Article 43 of the Financial Promotion Order or any other persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be made under the Financial Promotion Order.
France. The Offer is not being made, directly or indirectly, to the public in the Republic of France (France). None of this announcement, the Tender Offer Memorandum or any other document or material relating to the Offer has been or shall be distributed to the public in France and only (i) providers of investment services relating to portfolio management for the account of third parties (personnes fournissant le service d'investissement de gestion de portefeuille pour compte de tiers) and/or (ii) qualified investors (investisseurs qualifiés), other than individuals, acting for their own account, all as defined in, and in accordance with, Articles L.411-1, L.411-2 and D.411-1 to D.411-3 of the French Code monétaire et financier, are eligible to participate in the Offer. Neither this announcement nor the Tender Offer Memorandum have been or will be submitted for clearance to or approved by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers.
Belgium. None of this announcement, the Tender Offer Memorandum or any other documents or materials relating to the Offer have been submitted to or will be submitted for approval or recognition to the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (Autoriteit voor Financiële Diensten en Markten / Financial Services and Markets Authority) and, accordingly, the Offer may not be made in Belgium by way of a public offering, as defined in Article 3 of the Belgian Law of 1 April 2007 on public takeover bids or as defined in Article 3 of the Belgian Law of 16 June 2006 on the public offer of placement instruments and the admission to trading of placement instruments on regulated markets, each as amended or replaced from time to time. Accordingly, the Offer may not be advertised and the Offer will not be extended, and none of this announcement, the Tender Offer Memorandum or any other documents or materials relating to the Offer (including any memorandum, information circular, brochure or any similar documents) has been or shall be distributed or made available, directly or indirectly, to any person in Belgium other than "qualified investors" in the sense of Article 10 of the Belgian Law of 16 June 2006 on the public offer of placement instruments and the admission to trading of placement instruments on regulated markets (as amended from time to time), acting on their own account. Insofar as Belgium is concerned, this announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum have been issued only for the personal use of the above qualified investors and exclusively for the purpose of the Offer. Accordingly, the information contained in this announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum may not be used for any other purpose or disclosed to any other person in Belgium.