ADVANT Beiten advised Sappi Limited on the divestment of graphic paper mills in three European countries

Munich/Frankfurt, 7 October 2022 – ADVANT Beiten is advising Sappi Limited ("Sappi") on the German law aspects of the contemplated sale and carve-out transaction involving Sappi's graphic paper mills in Stockstadt (Germany), Maastricht (the Netherlands) and Kirkniemi (Finland) with over 1,400 full-time employees combined to AURELIUS Investment Lux One S.à.r.l. ("Aurelius").

The transaction is structured as a share deal whereby Aurelius will acquire the specific legal entities, i.e. Sappi Stockstadt GmbH, Sappi Maastricht Real Estate B.V. (including its subsidiary Sappi Maastricht B.V.), Sappi Finland I Oy and Sappi Finland Operations Oy, which own and control the assets and liabilities of the individual mills.

The enterprise value of the transaction amounts to approximately EUR 272 million and the consideration consists of cash proceeds and retained receivables as well as retained liabilities. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2023, subject to various standard suspensive conditions.

Sappi is a global leader in dissolving pulp and paper-based solutions, headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. It has over 12,000 employees, manufacturing facilities in ten countries spanning over three continents and customers in over 150 countries worldwide.

Advisors to Sappi Limited:

Advant Beiten: Dr Christoph Schmitt (Lead Partner; Banking & Finance) and Dr Markus Ley (Lead Partner, Corporate Law); Dr Mario Weichel and Maximilian Matusewicz (both Corporate Law); Dr Gerald Müller-Machwirth and Maike Pflästerer (both Employment Law); Katrin Lüdtke and Philipp Früh (both Public Law); Anja Fischer (Real Estate); Susanne Klein (IT Law and Data Protection) as well as Christoph Heinrich, Dr Christian Heinichen and Cathleen Laitenberger (all Antitrust and Competition Law).

Stibbe is advising on the Dutch law aspects and Fondia is advising on the Finnish law aspects of the transaction.

Media Contact

Frauke Reuther

Manager Kommunikation

ADVANT Beiten

+49 (69) 75 60 95 - 570

Frauke.Reuther@advant-beiten.com

Markus Ley

Rechtsanwalt

ADVANT Beiten

+49 (89) 35 0 65 - 1211

Markus.Ley@advant-beiten.com