Stora Enso to Acquire Schneidersohne Group

Stora Enso to Acquire Schneidersohne Group 


HELSINKI, Finland, April 25  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Stora Enso (NYSE: SEO)
today announced that Stora Enso has signed a memorandum of understanding to
acquire 100% of the shares in the German paper merchant Schneidersohne Group.
The enterprise value of the company is estimated to be EUR 450 million. The
all-cash acquisition is expected to be completed during the third quarter of
2005, subject to due diligence and approval by regulatory and competition
authorities as well as other required approvals. Synergies have been identified
and will be confirmed during the due diligence process and disclosed at the
time of signing of the definitive agreement.

The acquisition of Schneidersohne follows the acquisitions of two other paper
merchants, Scaldia Papier in the Netherlands and Papeteries de France (PdF).
The strategic aim of the acquisitions is to bring Stora Enso closer to the
customer and end-user in the value chain and to improve the profitability of
its merchant business. Through the Schneidersohne acquisition, Papyrus, Stora
Enso's merchant business, will become the second-largest paper merchant in
Europe.

Schneidersohne is by sales volume the second-largest paper merchant in Germany
and the fifth-largest in Europe. It has operations in 11 countries, the biggest
markets being Germany and Switzerland. It has 38 branch offices, including 20
in Germany. Schneidersohne has 2 100 employees and had net sales of EUR 1 130
million from a sales volume of 1 100 000 tonnes of paper and board in 2004.

Schneidersohne will become part of Stora Enso's merchant business. Stora Enso
will gain full management control of the company and it will be fully
consolidated from the third quarter of 2005 onwards.

The acquisition of Schneidersohne will have the following financial effects on
Stora Enso: earnings per share (EPS) and cash earnings per share (CEPS),
including synergies, will be enhanced by EUR 0.02 and EUR 0.03 respectively.
Stora Enso debt will increase by the enterprise value of Schneidersohne,
approximately EUR 450 million and its debt/equity ratio will increase by 0.06
units.

"Schneidersohne is a well-established company with a wide customer base,
attractive product range and strong product brands. This acquisition will
enable us to better understand the requirements of the whole value chain and to
develop our products and services accordingly. We believe this will benefit our
other merchant customers as well," says Kai Korhonen, Senior Executive Vice
President, Stora Enso Paper.

"Papyrus's strategy is to be a leading player in the European merchant market.
This acquisition will enhance our geographical coverage, create a strong
position in Germany and Switzerland, and strengthen our existing position in a
number of other countries. The combination of Papyrus and Schneidersohne will
improve our customer services and generate improved financial returns," says
Mats Nordlander, President of Papyrus.

   http://www.papyrus.com/
   http://www.storaenso.com/

  For further information, please contact:


Tim Laatsch, Senior Vice President, Communications, Stora Enso North America,
tel. [phone]

Scott Deitz, Vice President, Investor Relations, Stora Enso North America, tel.
715 422 1521

Papyrus is a wholly-owned paper merchanting subsidiary of Stora Enso with net
sales of EUR 640 million in 2004. Papyrus holds a leading position in the
Nordic countries and a strong market position in Western Europe. It supplies
710 000 tonnes of paper annually. Papyrus currently has a presence in 13
European countries.

Stora Enso is an integrated paper, packaging and forest products company
producing publication and fine papers, packaging boards and wood products,
areas in which the Group is a global market leader. Stora Enso sales totalled
EUR 12.4 billion in 2004. The Group has some 45 000 employees in more than 40
countries in five continents and an annual production capacity of 16.4 million
tonnes of paper and board and 7.7 million cubic metres of sawn wood products,
including 3.2 million cubic metres of value-added products. Stora Enso's shares
are listed in Helsinki, Stockholm and New York.

Stora Enso Oyj

Business ID 1039050-8 

DATASOURCE: Stora Enso Oyj



CONTACT:  Tim Laatsch, Senior Vice President, Communications, Stora Enso

North America, [phone]; Scott Deitz, Vice President, Investor

Relations, Stora Enso North America, [phone]



Web site: http://www.storaenso.com/

http://www.papyrus.com/ 

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