The sale of its Maastricht Mill in the Netherlands, Stockstadt Mill in Germany and Kirkniemi Mill in Finland was announced last September and was due to complete in Q1 2023. 

The deal was described as a “complex carve-out” at the time and was subject to various conditions including approvals from competition and regulatory authorities. 

Sappi issued a statement today saying that the sale “has not materialised within the agreed timeframe of the contractual agreement and therefore the agreement has lapsed”.

Sappi CEO Steve Binnie commented: “Regretfully, and despite extensive efforts by Sappi to close the transaction the parties could not agree on fulfilling the suspensive conditions. 

“Therefore, the transaction has lapsed. Sappi’s strategic focus remains unchanged. This includes reducing exposure to the graphic paper segment while expanding Sappi’s presence in segments including packaging and speciality papers, pulp and biomaterials.”

As part of the previous process Sappi said that it had received binding offers from “several” parties for the mills. It’s not clear whether any of the alternative offers can be revived. 

The enterprise value of the Aurelius deal had been approximately €272m (£243m at the time). Aurelius had expected the mills to deliver sales of more than €1bn.

Aurelius has just completed its deal to acquire ECO3, the former Agfa Offset Solutions business.

Regarding the Sappi deal, an Aurelius spokesperson told Printweek: “Unfortunately, due to changing external circumstances, the transaction could not be finalised.”

Maastricht Mill produces 260,000tpa of coated woodfree paper and paperboard; Stockstadt Mill is an integrated pulp and paper mill producing 145,000tpa of pulp and 220,000tpa of coated and uncoated woodfree paper, and Kirkniemi Mill is also an integrated pulp and paper mill producing 300,000tpa of bleached mechanical pulp used to produce approximately 750,000tpa of coated mechanical paper grades used in publication printing.

Sappi Europe CEO Marco Eikelenboom stated: “Sappi Europe will continue to manage the three mills as part of our overall portfolio, ensuring that they continue delivering value to the region and to the customers they supply.”

Shares in Sappi fell by 5.24% following the news.