Arjowiggins has announced the planned sale of Arjowiggins Graphic and Arjowiggins Creative Papers to Fineska BV, the parent company of Eska Group, a Dutch-based graphic cardboard business controlled by Andlinger & Company.
The planned sale will be submitted for approval by the national competition authorities in all countries where it is required. The transaction is expected to be complete by the end of October.
The gross amount of the transaction should be €125 million. Given the companies’ debts and other liabilities, net proceeds from the sale should be in the region of €20 million (to be adjusted at completion of the transaction in line with balance sheet items).
The businesses to be divested reported sales of €528 million in 2017, or 19 percent of Sequana Group’s consolidated sales, of which 61 percent comprised recycled graphic and specialty (i.e., laminated and transfer) papers and 39 percent premium fine papers and specialty papers (i.e., bookbinding and tracing paper). A total of eight mills located in France, the U.K., Spain and China are in operation and employ more than 2,000 people.
Following a competitive bidding process that was part of Sequana’s strategy of weighing up its options and playing its part in the necessary consolidation of the paper industry, Sequana’s board of directors has chosen Fineska’s offer. This operation, which is satisfactory for Sequana, would also safeguard the future development of Arjowiggins Graphic and Arjowiggins Creative Papers within a private investment group that has been supporting CVG and Eska – two renowned players in the specialty papers and graphic cardboard sectors – for a number of years.
This transaction is a major milestone for Sequana that would mark its exit from all paper manufacturing activities with the exception of Arjobex. Since 2008, Sequana has been refocusing on its paper distribution business where its subsidiary Antalis boasts leading positions in papers, industrial packaging and visual communication in Europe.
Print this page
