UPM Agrees Sale Of Wrappings And Materials Firm

UPM has signed an agreement on the sale of the Walki Wisa Group, part of UPM's converting division.

UPM has signed an agreement on the sale of the Walki Wisa Group, part of UPM's converting division.

Walki Wisa Group is being sold to funds managed by the Finnish private equity investment company Capman.

The parties have agreed not to disclose the sale price.

UPM estimates the sale of the business will result in a capital gain of around EUR25 million.

The final figure will be determined based on the accounts to be prepared as at the closing of the deal.

The transaction is expected to be concluded in the second quarter of this year and the deal is subject to approval by competition authorities.

Walki Wisa is a producer of wrappings and composite materials for industrial applications.

Its products are used in, amongst other sectors, the paper, metal and packaging industries.

The production plants are located in Finland, Sweden, Germany, UK and China.

Walki Wisa's sales amounted to EUR287 million in 2006 and the company employs 950 people, with 600 people in Finland.

The sale of Walki Wisa complies with UPM's strategy to divest non-core businesses, it said.

With the sale, UPM will focus on developing its converting operations on the growing self-adhesive labelstock and RFID business, in which UPM has invested strongly.

Capman is a private equity investor in the Nordic countries.

It manages Nordic funds worth approximately EUR2.9 billion in total capital.

The Capman team comprises 100 people in Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo.

The B shares of Capman Plc are listed on the main list of the Helsinki Stock Exchange.

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