Metsäliitto Osuuskunta - Company Announcement

Metsäliitto Cooperative supports Metsä Board’s planned rights issue

Metsä Group Stock Exchange Release 12 December 2014 at 1.00 pm EET


Metsä Board Corporation, part of Metsä Group, has today published a stock
exchange release on the company's plan to introduce the final steps of
transformation to a paperboard company and to fully exit the poorly performing
paper production. The company will invest approximately EUR 170 million in a
new folding boxboard machine at its Husum mill in Sweden and plans to
discontinue paper production at the mill by the end of 2017 as well as initiate
new measures to eliminate losses of its Gohrsmühle mill in Germany. At the same
time, Metsä Board stated that it will make maximum EUR 30 million capital
investment in Metsä Fibre's Äänekoski bioproduct mill project. The final
investment decision concerning the construction of the bioproduct mill will be
made during spring 2015. 

Metsä Board plans to finance the projected measures by current liquidity,
operating cash flow and potentially also by an approximately EUR 100 million
rights issue, based on the Board of Directors' authority granted by the annual
general meeting. The potential rights issue is targeted to be implemented
during the first quarter in 2015. As Metsä Board's principal shareholder
Metsäliitto Cooperative is committed to a pro rata investment of approximately
EUR 43 million in the potential rights issue. 


METSÄ GROUP
Group Communications

For further information, please contact:
Vesa-Pekka Takala, CFO, Metsä Group, tel. +358 (0)10 465 4260
Reeta Kaukiainen, SVP, Communications, Metsä Group, tel. +358 (0)10 465 4541,
+358 (0)50 522 0924 


www.metsagroup.com

Metsä Group is a responsible forest industry group whose products' main raw
material is renewable and sustainably grown northern wood. Metsä Group focuses
on tissue and cooking papers, consumer packaging paperboard, pulp, wood
products, and wood supply and forest services. Its high-quality products
combine renewable raw materials, customer-orientation, sustainable development
and innovation. Metsä Group's sales totalled EUR 4.9 billion in 2013, and it
employs approximately 11,000 people. The Group operates in some 30 countries.
Metsäliitto Cooperative is the parent company of Metsä Group and is owned by
approximately 123,000 Finnish forest owners.