Ahlstrom-Munksjö to acquire majority of Minglian

Ahlstrom-Munksjö has entered into an agreement to acquire 60% of Chinese decor paper producer Minglian New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. and form a joint venture, comprising a state-of-the-art decor paper plant in the city of Xingtai, Hebei Province, China.

By combining Minglian with its existing Decor business, Ahlstrom-Munksjö will create a global leader in decor papers with improved cost competitiveness and strong presence in Europe, Americas, and Asia. The business combination will allow the company to leverage our brand and capabilities in the growing Chinese decor paper market and strengthen its ability to serve international customers.

Minglian New Materials was established in 2016 by a group of experienced entrepreneurs with a background in the Chinese decor industry through a greenfield investment in new state-of the art paper machine technology and plant lay-out. Decor paper production already started at the end of 2018 and the production capacity is now in full use. Current product offering includes print and solid color base papers. The machine capacity is approximately 50,000 tons per year and the plant site in Xingtai allows production expansion in the future.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, and it is expected to be completed during the fourth quarter of 2021.