Stora Enso signs a binding agreement to acquire forest assets in Bergvik Skog AB, a Swedish forest holding company. With this agreement, the parties aim to complete the transaction during the first half of 2019, as the company says in the press release received by Lesprom Network.
Stora Enso’s forest holdings in Sweden will increase to 1.4 million hectares, of which 1.15 million hectares is productive forest land. The total value of the transaction in Stora Enso’s balance sheet is estimated to be approximately Euro 1 billion.
“I am pleased that we have taken a step forward in this ownership restructuring along with the other shareholders in Bergvik Skog. This transaction is a natural next step for us, as we strongly believe in the bioeconomy and want to secure our competitive raw material supply for the long term. With direct ownership, we will have better visibility of our wood supply in Sweden. This will give us better opportunities to further develop sustainable forest management, thus strengthening our competitiveness,” says Karl-Henrik Sundström, CEO of Stora Enso.
Currently, Bergvik Skog’s Swedish forest assets are owned by its subsidiaries Bergvik Väst AB and Bergvik Öst AB, representing approximately 83% and 17% of these assets respectively. As a result of this transaction, Stora Enso will transform its current ownership of 49.8% in Bergvik Skog, to a direct holding of 69.8% of the value of the forest assets in Bergvik Väst.
Stora Enso is a leading global provider of renewable solutions in packaging, biomaterials, wooden constructions and paper.
