Mondi has entered into an agreement to sell its three Russian packaging converting operations to Gotek Group for a consideration of RUB1.6bn (around €24m), payable in cash on completion.
The transaction comprises three packaging converting plants producing a range of packaging solutions for the domestic Russian market: a corrugated solutions plant in Lebedyan, Lipetsk region, and two consumer flexibles plants in Pereslavl-Zalessky, Yaroslavl region, and Aramil, Sverdlovsk region.The loss on the disposal is expected to be in the range of €70-80m at current exchange rate, the company informs.
Gotek is a leading Russian producer of packaging and packaging materials, headquartered in Moscow. The company employs around 2,200 people and operates five plants in the Kursk, Tula and Leningrad regions. The company's sales exceed RUB20bn.
The disposal is conditional on the approval of the Russian Federation’s Government Sub-Commission for the Control of Foreign Investments and customary antitrust approvals and is expected to complete in the first half of 2023. However, as the disposal is being undertaken in an evolving political and regulatory environment, there can be no certainty as to when the disposal will be completed, Mondi stresses.
The transaction is not affiliated with the proposed disposal of Mondi Syktyvkar for which the approval of the Russian Federation’s Government Sub-Commission for the Control of Foreign Investments and customary antitrust approvals remain outstanding.
The Syktyvkar site comprises an integrated mill for pulp, packaging and graphic paper in the Republic of Komi. The site has 4,500 employees and can produce up to 1.2 million t of market pulp and paper. According to EUWID information, 300,000 t of these are kraftliner, 200,000 t are fine paper and 180,000 t are newsprint.
