FINLAND, Jan. 26, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Metso Corporation's(NYSE:MX) offer for Svedala Industri AB has been approved on January 24, 2001 by the EU Commission subject to certain commitments. For the closing of the offer, clearance from the US Federal Trade Commission is also required. The review of the application for clearance with the Federal Trade Commission in the US is progressing. Metso remains committed to its conditional offer of June 21, 2000, and expects to be able to address any competition concerns. As result, Metso has decided to extend the acceptance period for the offer to March 9, 2001, and may decide on a further extention of the acceptance period should it be required.
The current acceptance period for the public offer for Svedala Industri AB was due expire on February 2, 2001.
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 1999, the net sales of Metso Corporation were EUR 3.4 billion, and the personnel totaled approximately 23,000. Metso Corporation is listed on the Helsinki and New York Stock Exchanges.