Swedish kraft and greaseproof paper producer Nordic paper announced that it would initiate a process to "explore potential interest from third parties for all shares in the company" after major shareholder Shanying International had announced that it intends to sell all or part of its stake in Nordic Paper.
Shanying, via its subsidiary SUTRIV Holding, currently holds 48.16 per cent of the outstanding shares in Nordic Paper. A sale of a part or all of Shanying's shares in the company to a third party might trigger the need for a mandatory tender offer for all shares in Nordic Paper, the company says.
Nordic Paper therefore decided to initiate a process to explore the potential sale of all shares in the company in order to seek the best possible value and outcome for all shareholders in the company. The process may ultimately result in a public tender offer for all outstanding shares in Nordic Paper in which shareholders would have the choice of whether or not to accept the offer, the company explains. This would include an opinion regarding the offer from the Board of Directors of Nordic Paper, represented by an independent bid committee, and the provision of a fairness opinion from an independent financial director.
The processes of exploring sales opportunities for Nordic Paper as well as of the intention of Shanying to sell its stake in the company are both in early stages and their outcome is open, Nordic Paper emphasises.
Chinese paper producer Shanying International became the majority owner of Nordic Paper in the second half of 2017. Three years later, Nordic Paper had its shares listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange. Despite a difficult market environment, the company posted a net result of SEK416m in 2023 and an operating result of SEK623m on sales of SEK4,47bn.
