The combined company’s main product areas will be Decor, Filtration, Industrial Solutions, and Specialties, with approximately 6200 employees and 41 production and converting facilities in 14 countries. Filtration includes products used for automotive applications (oil, fuel and air filters), gas turbines, and indoor air quality filters.
The combination will be implemented as a statutory absorption merger where Ahlstrom will be merged into Munksjö. Ahlstrom shareholders will receive 0.9738 new shares in Munksjö for each Ahlstrom share that they own.
The deal is expected to be completed in the beginning of the second quarter of 2017.
“After the very successful integration of our acquired businesses during the past years and strong operating performance, the combination with Ahlstrom is a natural first step in the execution of our growth strategy, combining two leading businesses into one strong engine for performance and growth,” said Peter Seligson, chairman of the Munksjö board.
Hans Sohlström, chairman of the Ahlstrom board, said: “During the past two years the Ahlstrom management has executed a very focused and successful business turn-around by shedding costs and by focusing on commercial excellence with new products and value adding solutions for our customers. The financial results speak for themselves. The combination now enables us to directly jump into a growth mode with a much stronger balance sheet and greater earnings potential which will benefit our shareholders and our customers as well as other stakeholders. We will together be able to leverage several strategic advantages and we will focus on shareholder returns through increased profits as well as profitable global growth initiatives in the area of sustainable and innovative fibre-based solutions.”
