Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Stora Enso CEO: NewPage deal will succeed

By Joel Dresang
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The head of the Finnish paper company that sold its North American holdings to NewPage Corp. said today that he remains confident that the deal would help the U.S. operations succeed.

“That unit has the best chance of success in the tough battle,” Jouko Karvinen, chief executive officer of Stora Enso Oyj, told Reuters news service in Helsinki.

NewPage, based in Ohio and part of the private equity group Cerberus Capital Management, is closing its mill in Kimberly next week in response to contracting demand for coated printing paper used for magazines and catalogs. Last month, NewPage closed a mill in Niagara, which also was part of the $2.5 billion deal for Stora Enso North America, including operations in Wisconsin Rapids, Stevens Point, Biron and Whiting.

Stora Enso still holds a 20-percent stake in the North American operations, and Karvinen said he’s counting on NewPage succeeding.

“I am even more convinced than a year ago that to divest Stora Enso North America and create NewPage was a good thing for Stora Enso and for NewPage,” Karvinen told Reuters.

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