Stora Enso to acquire Schneidersöhne Group

Stora Enso has signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire 100% of the shares in the German paper merchant Schneidersöhne Group. The enterprise value of the company is estimated to be EUR 450 million.

Stora Enso has signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire 100% of the shares in the German paper merchant Schneidersöhne Group. The enterprise value of the company is estimated to be EUR 450 million. The all-cash acquisition is expected to be completed during the third quarter of 2005, subject to due diligence and approval by regulatory and competition authorities as well as other required approvals. Synergies have been identified and will be confirmed during the due diligence process and disclosed at the time of signing of the definitive agreement. The acquisition of Schneidersöhne follows the acquisitions of two other paper merchants, Scaldia Papier in the Netherlands and Papeteries de France (PdF). The strategic aim of the acquisitions is to bring Stora Enso closer to the customer and end-user in the value chain and to improve the profitability of its merchant business. Through the Schneidersöhne acquisition, Papyrus, Stora Enso's merchant business, will become the second-largest paper merchant in Europe. Schneidersöhne is by sales volume the second-largest paper merchant in Germany and the fifth-largest in Europe. It has operations in 11 countries, the biggest markets being Germany and Switzerland. It has 38 branch offices, including 20 in Germany. Schneidersöhne has 2 100 employees and had net sales of EUR 1 130 million from a sales volume of 1 100 000 tonnes of paper and board in 2004.