The review by the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") in the US of Metso Corporation's application for clearance of its offer for Svedala Industri AB is progressing. During the past weeks Metso has made good progress in the discussions with the FTC and is confident that it will be able to resolve the few outstanding issues in the near future. As the review process is still ongoing, Metso has decided to extend the acceptance period for the offer to April 12, 2001, and may decide on a further extension of the acceptance period should it be required. Metso remains committed to its conditional offer of June 21, 2000.
Metso has in the past weeks received clearances from the competition authorities in South Africa and Australia which are important markets for both Svedala and Metso Minerals. The sale process for the remedy package agreed with the EU Commission is progressing and Metso is in discussions with several potential purchasers.
With the exception of the extension of the acceptance period, the terms of the offer by Metso to the shareholders in Svedala Industri AB, announced on 21 June 2000, are unchanged (offer document dated 7 July 2000).
Metso Corporation is a global supplier of process industry machinery and systems. Metso's core businesses are divided between Metso Paper (fiber and paper technology), Metso Minerals (rock and mineral processing) and Metso Automation (automation and control technology). In 2000, the net sales of Metso Corporation were EUR 3.9 billion, and the personnel totaled approximately 22,000. Metso Corporation is listed on the Helsinki and New York Stock Exchanges.