The Finnish paper-making equipment manufacturer announced this morning that deal should be effective from April 2008, subject to regulatory approval.

MIH said it was looking to divest its paper machinery division and chose Metso because they jointly own key patents and intellectual property acquired from Beloit Corporation, as well as due to Metso's global scale.

The deal would give Metso MIH's pulp and paper machinery business, including after-sales services, as well as technical documents, designs and intellectual property rights to the equipment.

However, MIH will continue to be responsible for machines still under warranty and will redeploy its staff within its broader Paper and Printing Machinery division. Metso will take over service contracts after the warranty period.