Stora Enso Oyj Press Release 6 October 2003 at 08:00 GMT
Stora Enso and Indufor Oy of Finland have signed an agreement for Indufor to buy Stora Enso's forestry consultancy business, which comprises mainly long-term projects in tropical countries undertaken by Stora Enso Forest Consulting Oy Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stora Enso Oyj. The deal also includes the rights to SimSilva®, a forestry information and planning system that Stora Enso Forest Consulting has developed jointly with GISnet Solutions Finland Oy. The total cumulative turnover of the projects being acquired by Indufor is about EUR 5 million. The project personnel of 15 people will be transferred to Indufor as part of the deal.
Stora Enso and Indufor have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding concerning the possible provision of advisory and technical services by Indufor for various Stora Enso assignments.
"The divestment is in line with Stora Enso's strategy of focusing on core competencies in wood supply, and is related to the recent establishment of the Wood Supply Europe division," comments Heikki Rissanen, Senior Vice President, Business Planning, Stora Enso Wood Supply Europe.
"Through the acquisition Indufor will expand its international operations and strengthen its local presence in new countries. SimSilva has a significant market potential in well-established forestry organisations and in emerging markets, which still remain largely untapped. Co-operation with Stora Enso would be one step in Indufor's strategy to expand its range of services for the global players in the forest industries," says Olli Haltia, Managing Director of Indufor.
For further information, please contact:
Heikki Rissanen, SVP Business Planning, Stora Enso Wood Supply Europe, tel. +358 40 5514851
Olli Haltia, Managing Director, Indufor Oy, tel. +358 40 9010338
Wood Supply Europe manages the supply of about 40 million cubic metres of wood raw material per year for the Stora Enso Group's mills in Europe. Its wood supply units operating in the Baltic States, Continental Europe, Finland, Russia and Sweden employ about 3 000 professionals. Wood Supply Europe is also responsible for forest-related environmental matters for the whole Stora Enso Group.
Indufor Oy, which was founded in 1980, is an international consulting and advisory company in the fields of forestry, forest industries and environmental management. Indufor has served more than 200 clients in over 100 countries. Based in Helsinki, Indufor employs 35 professionals.
