Suominen Oyj - Company Announcement

Suominen to acquire Ahlstrom's Paulinia plant in Brazil, the deal to be financed through a convertible hybrid bond

Helsinki, Finland, 2014-01-10 09:30 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Suominen
Corporation   Stock Exchange Release 10 January 2014 at 10.30am (EET) 

SUOMINEN TO ACQUIRE AHLSTROM'S PAULÍNIA PLANT IN BRAZIL, THE DEAL TO BE
FINANCED THROUGH A CONVERTIBLE HYBRID BOND 

Suominen and Ahlstrom have entered into agreement on the sales of the entire
stock of the Brazilian Ahlstrom Fabricação de Não-Tecidos Ltda to Suominen.
Formerly, the unit was part of Ahlstrom's Home and Personal business area. The
enterprise value of the transaction is MEUR 17.5 and Suominen aims to finance
the deal through a convertible hybrid bond, which will be treated as equity. 

Suominen acquired the Home and Personal business area of Ahlstrom in November
2011, but the transfer of the Brazilian unit of the acquired business was
prolonged due to delay in receiving approval from the authorities and
consequent renegotiations. 

The plant to be transferred to Suominen is located in Paulínia, Brazil,
approximately 120 kilometers to northwest from São Paulo. It is the only
nonwovens plant utilizing modern spunlace technology in manufacturing wiping
products in the country, and the plant is technically capable to supply also
industrial nonwovens. Paulínia plant is built in 2008 and employs approximately
40 persons. All employees will be transferred to Suominen in connection with
the closing of the deal, which is expected to take place by the end of February
2014. 

“Finalizing the acquisition of the Paulínia plant marks an important milestone
for Suominen. The deal provides us a foothold in the South American markets
where we see very exciting growth opportunities. We further strengthen our
position as the global leader in the nonwovens for wipes, as we will become the
only manufacturer of nonwovens for wipes with plants in Europe, North America
and South America. Suominen will become truly global, which enables us to serve
our globally operating customers even better than before. We are extremely
happy to welcome the Paulínia team to Suominen and really look forward to
capture the market opportunities with the local team of experts, having an
excellent understanding of the market”, says Nina Kopola, President & CEO of
Suominen Corporation. 

“We are very pleased that the transfer of Ahlstrom Paulínia and consequently
the divestment of our wipes business to Suominen will now be completed,” says
Jan Lång, President & CEO of Ahlstrom Corporation. 

The deal to be financed through a convertible hybrid bond treated as equity

A precondition for the execution of the transaction agreed today is that the
purchase price is funded by the issuance of a MEUR 17.5 hybrid bond. Ahlstrom
Corporation has committed to subscribing for the bond for the parts other
investors do not subscribe for. The bond includes a right to convert the
principal together with the potentially accrued capitalized interest thereon
into new shares in the company or into existing shares held by the company. 

With reference to the hybrid bond arrangement described above, the Board of
Directors of Suominen Corporation has decided to convene an Extraordinary
General Meeting and proposes to the General Meeting that the General Meeting
authorize the Board to decide on granting of stock options and other special
rights entitling to shares referred to in Chapter 10, Section 1 of the
Companies Act (the “Special Rights”). The Board of Directors may grant the
Special Rights all at once or through a series of multiple grants. The Special
Rights carry the right to receive against payment new shares of the Company or
the Company's own shares held by the Company. The right may also be granted to
the Company's creditor on condition that the creditor's receivable is used to
set off the subscription price. 

Suominen Corporation has been informed about the commitments made between
Ahlstrom and Ahlström Capital Group regarding the financing arrangement.
Ahlstrom Corporation describes these commitments in more detail in its Stock
Exchange Release of 10 January 2014. 

The notice for the Extraordinary General Meeting of Suominen Corporation, to be
held on January 31 2014, will be disclosed today as a stock exchange release. 

Analyst and press conference

Suominen will arrange an analyst and press conference about the transaction
today, on 10 January 2014 at 12.30 (EET), address Itämerentori 2, 2 floor
(meeting room Lyra), Helsinki. Nina Kopola, President & CEO of Suominen will
present the transaction. In addition, representatives of both Ahlstrom
Corporation and Ahlstrom Capital Group will attend the conference. The
presentation material will be available after the analyst and press conference
at www.suominen.fi. 


Suominen Corporation
Nina Kopola, President & CEO


For additional information, please contact:
Nina Kopola, President and CEO, Suominen Corporation, tel. +358 10 214 300

Suominen in brief

Suominen supplies its industrial and retail customers with nonwovens and
flexible packaging for use in consumer products worldwide. Suominen is the
global market leader in nonwovens for wipes. The company employs more than
1,000 people in Europe and in the United States. Suominen's net sales in 2012
amounted to MEUR 410.4 and operating profit excluding non-recurring items was
MEUR 12.9 (continuing operations). The Suominen share (SUY1V) is listed in
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Stock Exchange. Read more at www.suominen.fi. 

Distribution:
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.
Main media
www.suominen.fi