HELSINKI, Finland, June 7, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Metso Corporation (NYSE:MX) has entered into an agreement with Outokumpu Mintec Oy regarding the divestiture by Metso of its grinding mills business. The sale is a result of the competition review process undertaken by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in relation to Metso Corporation's offer for Svedala Industri AB.
The divestiture is conditional upon the US Federal Trade Commission approving Outokumpu Mintec as the purchaser of the grinding mills business. Metso expects such approval to be forthcoming in the near future. In addition, the sale is conditional upon the completion of Metso's offer for Svedala and other necessary approvals.
The grinding mills business has an annual turnover of EUR 20-30 million. Approximately 30 employees who are directly involved in the grinding mills business, will transfer to Outokumpu under the terms of the divestiture.
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.