UPM, Sappi to Form $1.7 Billion Graphic Papers Joint Venture
Ngodwana wood mill, operated by Sappi Ltd., in Mpumalanga, South Africa.
Photographer: Dean Hutton/Bloomberg
UPM-Kymmene Oyj and Sappi Ltd. plan to combine their graphic paper assets into a joint venture with an enterprise value of €1.42 billion ($1.7 billion).
The companies signed a non-binding letter of intent to form the venture, with each holding a half, they said in a statement on Thursday. It would include UPM’s entire communication papers business, comprising eight paper mills, and Sappi’s European graphic paper business with four mills.