<b>French Company Acquiring Arlo Wiggins</b>

Worms & Cie, the French company, agreed to acquire Arjo Wiggins Appleton, the UK papermaker.

Worms, which already owns 40 per cent of Arjo, said that the takeover would enable Arjo to continue its restructuring program.

Ken Minton, executive chairman of Arjo Wiggins Appleton, said that despite Arjo's restructuring, the benefits had not been reflected in the company's share price and Arjo had been forced to look at other ways to release value to shareholders.

Arjo's headquarters will stay in the UK and Worms will keep the existing management team in place.

Arjo has been restructuring over the past two years. The deal comes after 10 years of disappointing performance by Arjo as a London-listed company.

Floated after the merger of BAT's paper concerns with Arjomari Prioux, a French company, Arjo's shares have struggled and profits have remained flat.