Focusing On Renewable Packaging! Stora Enso Spins Off And Lists Europe's Largest Pure Forestry Company

Recently, Stora Enso announced that it has completed a strategic review of its Swedish forest assets and decided to spin off its Swedish forest assets, valued at 900 million euros and covering approximately 175,000 hectares, into a new publicly listed Swedish company.

Stora Enso stated that the new company "will become Europe's largest pure forestry listed company, with naturally grown forests as a unique asset class, offering enormous long-term value growth potential. The company's shares will be traded on Nasdaq Stockholm and Nasdaq Helsinki.

The company's board of directors said that this spin-off is the best way to unlock the full potential of Stora Enso's Swedish forest assets and core packaging business, optimize capital allocation, and reduce operational complexity.

Hans Sohlström, President and CEO of Stora Enso, said: "This spin-off will lay a solid foundation for the independent development of the two companies. We are entering an important new phase in the company's development history. In addition, the two companies will maintain a strategic partnership, with Stora Enso signing a long-term timber supply agreement with the new company to ensure revenue for both parties."

Stora Enso stated that it expects to announce the cross-border spin-off plan in the second half of 2026 and complete it in the first half of 2027.

In addition, Stora Enso stated that it is conducting a strategic review of its Central European wood products business. Although this business "holds a strong position in an attractive market, it does not provide strategic or operational synergies to Stora Enso's core renewable packaging business." There is a possibility of divesting this business to strengthen Stora Enso's focus on its core operations.

However, the value-added processing business of the co-located sawmills in the Nordics is not part of the review, as "this part of the business remains strategically important for Stora Enso's future."

Stora Enso plans to release the latest updates on this strategic review in 2026. In the meantime, the business will continue to operate as usual, and any potential changes will be subject to joint decision-making negotiations with the relevant countries and other potential legal procedures.