Sappi sale will not go ahead
The proposed sale of the Sappi factory in Maastricht, Stockstadt (Germany) and Kirkniemi (Finland) to Aurelius Group will not go ahead, Sappi announced last week.
"Unfortunately, and despite extensive efforts by Sappi to close the transaction, the parties could not agree on the timely satisfaction of the conditions precedent and therefore the transaction has expired" , stated Steve Binnie, CEO of Sappi Limited on the company's website. The sales of the factories in Germany and Finland are also off the table.
Vision
However, that does not change the vision that the South African parent company has now set. "Our strategic focus remains unchanged. This includes reducing our activities in the graphic paper segment and expanding Sappi's presence in segments such as packaging and speciality papers, pulp and biomaterials" explains Binnie.
Sappi Europe
It was recently announced that the Maastricht paper factory has been temporarily shut down due to a lack of orders. Production is not expected to be at its previous level in April either. However, CEO of Sappi Europe, Marco Eikelenboom said yesterday, "Sappi Europe will continue to manage the three factories as part of our overall portfolio and ensure that they continue to deliver value to the region and to the customers they supply".
