Oji will acquire all shares in the Salzburg-based producer of dissolving pulp and bioethanol. The agreement is still subject to review and approval by the competition authorities. The purchase price has not been disclosed.
With the acquisition of AustroCel, Oji intends to advance the group’s restructuring. According to the “Medium-Term Management Plan” published in May, the Oji Group will focus on the Forest Biomass Business segment in the future. The company is currently operating in the cardboard, packaging paper, specialty papers, graphic papers, as well as pulp, forestry, and wood processing sectors. In Europe, Finnish Walki Group is one of the Japanese corporation’s subsidiaries. Oji’s pulp, wood chips, and lumber business is located primarily in New Zealand, Australia, and Brazil. As for the forestry sector, the group is present in Vietnam, Indonesia, Brazil, and Uruguay. Oji employs more than 39,000 people.
TowerBrook had made its search for an investor for AustroCel public. The company’s value was estimated at €500 million.
