05.12.2017 – 07:08

Cham Paper Group Holding AG

EQS-Adhoc: Cham Paper Group sells its speciality paper business to Sappi Group

EQS Group-Ad-hoc: Cham Paper Group Holding AG / Key word(s): Strategic Company
Decision
Cham Paper Group sells its speciality paper business to Sappi Group

05-Dec-2017 / 07:00 CET/CEST
Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 KR
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cham, 5 December 2017

Cham Paper Group sells its speciality paper business to Sappi Group

Cham Paper Group sells its speciality paper business to the South African Sappi
Limited, one of the world's leading pulp and paper companies. The integration of
the speciality paper business into the Sappi Group will open up new perspectives
for the two high-performance plants of Cham Paper Group in Carmignano and
Condino as well as for their employees and for the Digital Imaging team in Cham.
The transaction is subject to the approval of anti-trust authorities. Following
the divestment of the paper business, Cham Paper Group will focus on its real
estate business. The group is pushing ahead the transformation of the «Papieri»
area in Cham into a new, attractive urban quarter.

The Sappi Group, which is domiciled in Johannesburg and listed on the
Johannesburg stock exchange, develops, produces and sells dissolving wood pulp,
speciality, packaging and graphic paper, as well as biomaterials. It employs
around 12,000 people with production facilities across 7 countries on 3
continents and customers in over 150 countries. It has focused its development
in various areas of the speciality paper market. The integration of Cham Paper
Group's speciality paper business into a strong, globally positioned Group will
open up new opportunities for this business as regards procurement, market
development, product innovation, expansion opportunities and staff development.

In recent months, the Cham Paper Group's Board of Directors has examined all
strategic options for the company's future success following the relocation of
the speciality paper production from Switzerland to Italy and the comprehensive
modernisation of the plants in Carmignano and Condino. Although Cham Paper
Group's profitable speciality paper business is well positioned today, it is
still too small to develop its market position on its own in the long term.
Accordingly, selling it to the Sappi Group is an optimal solution.

The sale of the speciality paper business requires a change in the corporate
purpose of Cham Paper Group Holding AG. The shareholders may vote on the
proposal at an Extraordinary General Meeting. The alteration of the company's
purpose requires the approval of at least two-thirds of the votes represented at
the General Meeting. In addition, the transaction is subject to the approval of
anti-trust authorities. The transaction is expected to close in the first
quarter of 2018.

Following the divestment of the speciality paper business, the company will
focus on its real estate business and will operate under the name «Cham Group».
The sale at an enterprise value of CHF 146.5 million will result (after
deduction of bank debt, liabilities and cost) in an inflow of approximately CHF
125 million in cash to the Group. These financial resources increase the
flexibility for the development of the «Papieri» project. For example, the
resulting higher equity ratio means that a higher proportion of investment
properties could be considered at the expense of the condominium ownership
ratio. Real estate investments beyond the «Papieri» site are also possible.

The Board of Directors intends to make the Cham Group share an attractive
dividend-bearing security for the long-term. A base dividend of at least CHF
6.00 per share will be proposed to the General Meeting of Shareholders as of the
financial year 2017. The distribution is tax-free from capital reserves. As soon
as the «Papieri» site yields regular income, which is likely to be the case from
2022 onwards, the dividend will be based on the actual profit generated.

For information, please contact
Media and IR office Cham Paper Group Holding AG
Edwin van der Geest
E-Mail:media@cham-group.comorinvestor@cham-group.com
Phone +41 43 268 32 32 / +41 79 330 55 22
Valor / ISIN / Ticker: registered shares Cham Paper Group Holding AG 193 185 /
CH0001931853 / CPGN

Cham Paper Group
The Cham Paper Group is a leading manufacturer of coated speciality papers.
Surface finishing lends papers properties that generate value added for its
customers. The company, which was founded in 1657, has three sites, one in
Switzerland (Cham) and two in Italy (Carmignano and Condino), and a global sales
network.
The decision to focus on development and sales and discontinue paper
manufacturing in Switzerland has made way for a new project on the factory site
in the centre of Cham. The Cham Paper Group is developing an eleven-hectare
quarter there called the Papieri site.
The Cham Paper Group (stock exchange symbol: CPGN) is listed on Switzerland's
SIX Swiss Exchange.

Disclaimer
This communication may contain statements about the future that use words such
as, for example, "believe", "assume", "expect" and other similar expressions.
Such statements about the future are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other
factors, which can cause the true results of the company to differ significantly
from that which is expressly or implicitly assumed in these statements. In view
of these uncertainties, the reader should not depend on this type of statement
about the future. The company gives no undertaking whatever to update such
statements regarding the future, or to adapt them to future events or
developments.

This press release is issued in English and German. The German version is
binding.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of ad hoc announcement------------------------------------------------------

Language: English

Company:  Cham Paper Group Holding AG

          Fabrikstrasse

          6330 Cham

          Switzerland

Phone:    +41 41 785 33 33

Fax:      +41 41 785 31 50

E-mail:    mail.cham@cham-group.com

Internet: www.cham-group.com

ISIN:     CH0001931853

Valor:    -

Listed:   SIX Swiss Exchange



 

End of Announcement EQS Group News Service

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

635457  05-Dec-2017 CET/CEST