Metso's Board approves a demerger plan to divide Metso into two companies

Metso Corporation's stock exchange release on May 31, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. local time

• The Board has completed a strategy study, resulting in the signing of a demerger plan 

The new parent company for Metso's Pulp, Paper and Power businesses will be named Valmet Corporation 

Financing arrangements for Valmet are in place; Metso has received consents and waivers from most of its lenders and will immediately start a bondholder consent process  

Extraordinary General Meeting is planned to be held on or about October 1, 2013 

The Board of Directors of Metso Corporation has completed a strategy study and concluded that going forward a demerger would offer the best potential for its Pulp, Paper and Power businesses as well as its Mining and Construction and Automation businesses to utilize their respective strengths in their customer industries faster and more efficiently. Metso has developed its businesses actively during the past decade through investing in the development of their global service capabilities, broadening their technology offering through substantial R&D and building their market positions through acquisitions. Both new entities would be globally leading companies in their respective markets and the next steps in their strategic development would be taken most efficiently as two separate companies, enabling more focused and crystallized strategies and operations. The increased management and board focus should also help the two independent companies in achieving stronger growth and improved profitability. This would also be expected to result in increased value for shareholders inasmuch as both companies would have their own distinct characteristics and would offer different investment profiles.

Metso's Board has today approved a demerger plan to transfer all the assets, debts and liabilities of Metso's Pulp, Paper and Power businesses to a newly-formed company that will be named Valmet Corporation. An application will be made to list the shares of Valmet on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki stock exchange. Following the demerger, Metso's current Mining and Construction and Automation businesses would remain in the current company, which would continue to operate under the Metso name. Valmet would initially have the same ownership structure as Metso and would be totally independent without any cross-ownership between Metso and Valmet.