Metsä-Botnia acquired plantation forest in Uruguay
19/03/2003
Oy Metsä-Botnia, March 14, 2003 Press Release
Oy Metsä-Botnia Ab has purchased a 60 % share in the Uruguayan company Compania Forestal Oriental S.A. (FOSA) from Shell International Renewables BV (Shell). The remaining shares in the company are owned by UPM-Kymmene Corporation (38.38 %) and Finnfund (1.62 %).
FOSA, which specializes in forest cultivation, owns 48,000 hectares of land in the west of Uruguay. 32,000 hectares of this is good-quality eucalyptus forest that has been planted on grassland. The plantations have received certification under the FSC standard.
FOSA is raising its logging volumes, and by the end of this decade the company will be able to produce one million cubic metres of good-quality, short-fibre wood raw material. This will secure supplies of short-fibre raw material to the mills of Botnia and its owners in Europe. Metsä-Botnia's owners are M-real, UPM-Kymmene Corporation and Metsäliitto.
FOSA was established in the early 1990's by Shell and Kymmene Corporation. The company employs some 160 people. An opportunity for this transaction was presented when Shell decided to give up its ownership.
More information at Finnfund: Ms. Tarja Myllymäki tel. +358 9 3484 3326, email firstname.lastname@finnfund.fi
