Nordic Business Report-October 26, 2006-Stora Enso Oyj in talks with Arauco regarding joint ownership of Stora Enso Arapoti in Brazil
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Finnish-Swedish forest industry group Stora Enso Oyj (NYSE: SEO) confirmed on Thursday (26 October) that it is in exclusive talks with the Chilean forest products company Arauco regarding joint ownership of Stora Enso Arapoti in Brazil.
The talks focus primarily on Stora Enso Arapoti's sawmill and forestland operations, and Stora Enso said that it hopes to finalise a deal before the end of January next year.
Stora Enso acquired the Arapoti operations from International Paper in September for approximately USD420m. The business comprises a paper mill for coated mechanical paper, a sawmill and approximately 50,000 hectares of land.
"One of the core businesses of Stora Enso is to produce high quality publication paper, which was the main reason for acquiring Arapoti. Stora Enso does not see itself as a sawmill operator in Latin America. Stora Enso will also explore with Arauco the most efficient use of the forest resources," said Nils Grafstrom, president of Stora Enso's Latin America division.
Stora Enso, headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, has some 46,000 employees in more than 40 countries, and reported sales of EUR13.2bn in 2005. Stora Enso is listed on the Nordic Exchange in Helsinki and Stockholm, and on the NYSE.
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