The European Commission on Wednesday, Nov. 21, approved Finnish paper maker UPM-Kymmene's $3.18 billion purchase of Germany's Haindl, giving UPM a commanding position in Europe's biggest market.
The parallel agreement for the further sale of two Haindl paper mills to Norske Skog has also been given the green light. Both transactions are expected to close this month. The two mills sold to Norske total 860,000 metric tons of capacity.
The four Haindl mills acquired by UPM-Kymmene are located in Augsburg, Schongau and Schwedt in Germany and Steyrermühl in Austria. Norske Skog will acquire two mills, Walsum and Parenco.
After the transaction the combined paper production capacity will be 11.6 million tonnes.
The sale of two mills in Germany and the Netherlands to Norske Skog, the world's second largest newsprint producer, was meant to allay worries about UPM dominance in Europe, where it will have over a quarter of the magazine paper market.
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