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In accordance with Article 13 of Law No. 104-12 on freedom of prices and competition and Article 10 of Decree No. 2-14-652 issued for its implementation, as amended and supplemented, the Competition Council makes available to the public the “operation summary” below, containing the information provided by the parties.
This information was prepared by the notifying parties, who are solely responsible. Any inaccurate or distorted information contained therein does not in any way prejudge the Competition Council’s position on the proposed operation.
The publication of this press release does not attest to the completeness of the file provided for in Article 9 of Decree No. 2-14-652 issued for the implementation of Law No. 104-12 on freedom of prices and competition, as amended and supplemented.
Names of the companies and groups involved:
- Founding parties:
- The company “UPM-Kymmene Oyj,” the parent company of the group (UPM);
- The company “Sappi Papier Holding GmbH,” an indirect subsidiary of the company “Sappi Limited,” the parent company of the group (Sappi).
- The joint venture: The company “Communication Paper JV”.
Nature of the operation
- Creation of a joint venture.
Economic sectors concerned
- Production and supply of communication papers, including magazine paper and fine paper.
Deadline for interested third parties to submit their observations
- 10 days from the date of publication of this press release, until July 27, 2026.
NON-CONFIDENTIAL SUMMARY OF THE OPERATION PROVIDED BY THE PARTIES
The Competition Council has received notification of an economic concentration project concerning the creation of a joint venture named “Communication Paper JV” by the companies “UPM-Kymmene Oyj” and “Sappi Papier Holding GmbH.” To this end, the group (UPM) will contribute its communication paper activities in Europe and the United States to the joint venture, while the group (Sappi) will contribute its European activities also related to communication paper.
“UPM-Kymmene Oyj” is a public limited company established under Finnish law, registered in the Finnish commercial register under number 1041090-0. Its registered office is at P.O. Box 380, 00101 Helsinki, Finland, and the company’s correspondence address is at Alvar Aallon katu 1, FI-00100 Helsinki, Finland. “UPM-Kymmene Oyj” is the parent company of the group (UPM), specializing in the development, production, and marketing of products from renewable resources, including paper products, pulp, electricity, labeling materials, sawn timber, wood-based panels, as well as biochemical, biomass, and plywood solutions. The UPM group operates in the domestic market through the importation of magazine paper and fine paper.
“Sappi Papier Holding GmbH” is a limited liability company established under Austrian law, registered in the Austrian commercial register under number FN 167931 h, with its registered office at Brucker Straße 21, 8101 Gratkorn, Austria. “Sappi Papier Holding GmbH” is an indirect subsidiary of the company “Sappi Limited.” “Sappi Limited” is a public limited company established under the laws of the Republic of South Africa, registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission under number 1936/008963/06, with its registered office at No. 108 Oxford Road, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2198, Republic of South Africa.
“Sappi Limited” is the ultimate parent company of the group (Sappi). The group (Sappi) specializes in the manufacture of renewable fiber-based materials and supplies pulp, biomaterials, and finished products including communication papers, specialty papers, and packaging papers. This group operates in the domestic market through the importation of magazine paper and fine paper.
The joint venture will be a Finnish limited liability company and is in the process of being established. Its share capital and voting rights will be held by the founding companies “UPM-Kymmene Oyj” and “Sappi Papier Holding GmbH.”
Done in Rabat on July 16, 2026
