HELSINKI, Finland, Sept. 4, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- The process to obtain clearance from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for Metso Corporation's (NYSE:MX) offer for Svedala Industri AB is near completion. Metso has agreed to the terms of the consent decree with the staff at the FTC, and the consent decree has been submitted to the Federal Trade Commissioners for approval. Metso believes that the approval will be forthcoming before the end of this week. In order to end the bid process as soon as possible, Metso does not intend to extend the offer further. The last day of the acceptance period is therefore Friday, September 7, 2001 and Svedala shareholders should tender their shares no later than that day in order to accept Metso's conditional offer and otherwise as detailed in the offer document dated July 7, 2000.
Assuming that approval from the FTC on conditions reasonably acceptable to Metso and a sufficient acceptance level are obtained, closing and settlement of the offer is expected to begin around September 14, 2001.
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.