Feb 16, 2009. /Lesprom Network/. Nippon Paper Group Inc. would pay up to $456 million to buy Australian Paper from PaperlinX Ltd, indicating that Japanese companies' appetite for overseas acquisitions remains strong, as Reuters agency informed Lesprom Network. Japanese firms spent a record $67 billion to buy overseas companies in 2008, armed with a strong currency and keen to take advantage of the global financial crisis to grow outside their sluggish home market. Nippon Paper, Japan's second-largest paper maker, said it would pay $600 million Australian dollars ($391 million) initially for Australian Paper and up to A$100 million ($67 million) more based on performance over three years to June 2012. PaperlinX, desperate to cut debt, put Australian Paper up for sale last year. The acquisition price is a sharp discount to the A$1.1 billion ($733 million) value attached to it on PaperlinX's books. The announcement was widely expected after Nippon Paper said earlier it was considering a deal. Demand for paper products in Japan is expected to sink to a 15-year low of 28 million tonnes this year, according to an industry group, a reflection of the country's sluggish economy. Against that backdrop, Nippon Paper aims to more than triple the proportion of its sales generated overseas to 30% by 2015 and to move up to at least fifth in world rankings of paper makers from current ninth in terms of annual revenues.