Ahlstrom has found a potential buyer for the Stenay specialty paper mill in France. Germany's private-equity company Accursia Capital already submitted a binding offer.
Speciality paper and materials manufacturer Ahlstrom intends to close or sell the loss-making French mill in Stenay. After a search and exploratory process lasting several months, a suitable buyer for the paper mill seems to have been found. The company received a binding offer from the German investment holding company Accursia Capital. The takeover was still subject to consultations with employee representatives, Ahlstrom explained.
"Since the beginning of the consultation period, finding a buyer has been Ahlstrom’s priority. [...] With a strong commitment to achieving a positive outcome for all parties involved, Ahlstrom would be dedicated to making every effort during the transition to ensure the plant successfully enters its new chapter," Ahlstrom explained.
And Accursia Capital also seems keen to get started soon and put the Stenay site on the road to success. "We are looking forward to starting the development of the plant jointly with the employees and the local management to establish Stenay as a strong player in the highly competitive paper-based packaging market. " said Martin Scheiblegger, CEO of Accursia Capital.
Ahlstrom employs 120 people in Stenay and operates one paper machine with a production capacity of approximately 55,000 tpy of one-side coated (C1S) specialty paper for label, graphic, and food packaging applications. The mill has its own research and development department with the capability to develop new formulations and manufacturing processes and is able to provide customer-oriented solutions for a wide range of applications, Accursia said.
Munich-based Accursia Capital focusses on medium-sized industrial companies in Europe and specialises in takeovers and turnaround of distressed companies, non-core group subsidiaries and underperforming assets.
Two years ago, Accursia took over French coreboard manufacturer Cenpa. "We are confident that with Accursia’s support the [Stenay] plant will achieve a turnaround in a similar fashion as Cenpa did over the last two years, " the company said.
