The Chief Executive of the world's largest magazine paper maker UPM-Kymmene said in an interview published on Sunday that a hostile takeover of the group was unlikely despite a recent plunge in its market value. Helsinki-headquartered UPM-Kymmene has suffered like its Nordic and North American peers for two years from sluggish demand and falling prices as the global economic downturn and a slump in advertising hits its media clients. As a result, its shares have almost halved from their peak in 2000 and currently trade below their book value, but Chief Executive Juha Niemela shrugged off increasing speculation about a possible hostile takeover of the group. "It is an expensive company, you will not get it at the current share price of 13 euros. You would have to (double) it to even start dreaming about a hostile takeover," Niemela said in an interview with daily Helsingin Sanomat. "The current owners know what the company is worth in the longer term. They will not agree to any mediocre offers," he added. Niemela added the current strength of the euro currency against the dollar made European firms an expensive target for the U.S. companies, also decreasing the chance of a takeover offer.