AssiDomän aborts sale of Cartonboard

AssiDomän aborts sale of Cartonboard AssiDomän's Board of Directors has decided to abort the sale of AssiDomän Cartonboard that was initiated in December last year. Negotiations with several different parties have shown that it is not possible at the present time to create a better structure for the cartonboard business at a price acceptable to AssiDomän. The general decline in the valuation of forest industry shares that has taken place during the past six months, has contributed to a lower valuation of Cartonboard by potential buyers. AssiDomän's Board of Directors has concluded that Cartonboard has a strong potential for achieving good earnings. It is therefore important not to rush the structural changes so that considerable value is lost along the way. The assessment that the Cartonboard business unit will have better prospects of achieving optimal long-term profitability within a larger business structure outside AssiDomän remains, however. AssiDomän Cartonboard consists of an integrated pulp and board mill in Frövi. Pulp capacity is 250,000 tonnes and board capacity is 350,000 tonnes. The principal products are liquid packaging board and packaging board. AssiDomän AB Corporate Communications 28 June 2000 For further information, please contact: Gunnar Palme, President and CEO Berit Hallberg, Senior Vice President Corporate Communications Tel +46 8 655 90 00 AssiDomän is one of Europe's leading forest products companies. Production is concentrated on sawn timber, packaging paper and packaging. The Group had a turnover of approximately SEK 24.5 billion in 1999 (EUR 3 billion) and has 17,000 employees. ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/06/28/20000628BIT00130/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/06/28/20000628BIT00130/bit0002.pdf