Stora Enso's Board of Directors approves demerger plan to separate Bergslagets Skogar into a new listed company, announcing strategic targets and dividend policy

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Stora Enso Oyj

Oct 30, 2026, 03:21 ET

STORA ENSO OYJ STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 30 October 2026 at 8:30 EET

HELSINKI, Oct. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Stora Enso's Board of Directors approves demerger plan to separate Bergslagets Skogar into a new listed company, and announces strategic targets and dividend policy for Bergslagets Skogar.

Key highlights

- The Board of Directors of Stora Enso Oyj ("Stora Enso" or the "Company") has approved a demerger plan (the "Demerger Plan") for the cross-border partial demerger of Stora Enso's Swedish forest assets business (the "Demerger") into Bergslagets Skogar AB ("Bergslagets Skogar"), which would be incorporated in the Demerger

- The management team of Bergslagets Skogar will host its first Capital Markets Day on 3 November 2026 and present the strategic targets, dividend policy and net financial debt as a separate stand-alone company, as announced today

- The Extraordinary General Meeting ("EGM") to resolve on the Demerger is expected to be held on 15 December 2026

- An information brochure with additional information for Stora Enso's shareholders regarding the Demerger process and Bergslagets Skogar as a standalone company (the "Information Brochure") is expected to be published latest on 24 November 2026

- Major shareholders of the Company, representing the top 5 largest shareholders by votes, together holding approximately 28.6% of the shares and 69.9% of the votes, have irrevocably undertaken, subject to certain customary conditions, to attend the EGM and vote in favour of the Demerger

- The planned completion date of the Demerger is on 31 March 2027

- A prospectus concerning the admission to trading of Bergslagets Skogar's shares is expected to be published closely following the completion date of the Demerger and in any case prior to commencement of public trading in Bergslagets Skogar's shares

On 14 November 2025, following the completion of a strategic review of its Swedish forest assets, Stora Enso announced its intention to separate its Swedish forest assets business into a new publicly listed company through a statutory partial cross-border demerger.

The Board of Directors of Stora Enso has approved a Demerger Plan concerning the cross-border partial demerger of Stora Enso. According to the Demerger Plan, Stora Enso would demerge to the effect that all such assets, rights, debts and liabilities which relate to, or primarily serve, the Swedish forest assets business, comprising the ownership, management and development of Stora Enso's forest land and related forestry operations in Sweden, production of paint and colour pigments, and management of renewable energy projects (the "Swedish forest assets business"), would be transferred to a Swedish public limited liability company to be incorporated in the Demerger, that is proposed to take the trade name Bergslagets Skogar AB. Bergslagets Skogar intends to apply for admission to public trading of its shares on the regulated market of Nasdaq Stockholm AB ("Nasdaq Stockholm") and the regulated market of Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd ("Nasdaq Helsinki").

The completion of the Demerger is subject to, among others, approval by Stora Enso's shareholders at an EGM expected to be held on 15 December 2026.

As announced on 6 March 2026, Stora Enso has selected the members of Bergslagets Skogar's management team. The management team will host Bergslagets Skogar's first Capital Markets Day on 3 November 2026 and present Bergslagets Skogar's planned strategy, value creation path and strategic targets, dividend policy and capital structure as a standalone business.

Strategic rationale of the Demerger and key strengths of Bergslagets Skogar

The purpose of the Demerger is to execute the separation of the Swedish forest assets business into an independent company, with the aim to unlock the full potential of the Swedish forest assets business, enabling enhanced focus on core strengths and market opportunities. The separation also aims at positioning Bergslagets Skogar for additional long-term opportunities of incremental value creation through, among other things, advanced forest management and land holding value optimisation.

The separation of the Swedish forest assets business follows Stora Enso's stronger focus on renewable materials and packaging, with the aim to unlock the full potential of both the Swedish forest assets business and Stora Enso's core packaging business, optimise capital allocation, reduce group complexity, and enable enhanced focus on each of Stora Enso's and Bergslagets Skogar's core strengths and market opportunities, with the aim to accelerate value creation for shareholders.

Bergslagets Skogar would be positioned as the largest listed pure-play forest company in Europe, offering investors access to forest assets. Global sustainability trends are driving demand for renewable materials as substitutes for fossil-based ones, and forests also play a critical role in climate change mitigation. Trees mature biologically, producing high-quality renewable raw material for different end-uses, such as packaging and construction industries. Forest land has historically shown resilience against inflation and market volatility. The value from forests comes both from biological growth and underlying land appreciation over the long term.

"The Board's approval of the Demerger Plan marks an important step towards creating two focused companies with clearer strategic priorities and investment propositions. We believe the planned demerger is in the best interests of Stora Enso and its shareholders, enabling them to participate directly in the long-term value creation of both Stora Enso and Bergslagets Skogar," says HÃ¥kan Buskhe, Chair of Stora Enso's Board of Directors.

"I am proud to present this transaction and excited about the opportunities it would create for both companies. It would sharpen Stora Enso's focus on its core businesses and growth opportunities, while giving Bergslagets Skogar the independence to realise the full potential of its high-quality forest assets. I believe both companies would be well positioned to build on their distinct strengths and pursue their respective strategic ambitions," says Hans Sohlström President and CEO of Stora Enso.

Strategic targets areas and dividend policy

Bergslagets Skogar would aim to generate attractive long-term shareholder returns through sustainable forest management, recurring and stable cash generation, forest asset appreciation and disciplined capital allocation. As part of the preparations of the Demerger process, the Board of Directors of Stora Enso, in consultation with the selected management and proposed members of the Board of Directors of Bergslagets Skogar, has decided on the following strategic targets for Bergslagets Skogar:

- The net standing stock volume shall grow by 1 percent per year on average.

- Long-term generate an annual free cash flow return of 2 percent.

- The biodiversity benefit shall increase.

- The climate benefit shall increase.

- The net loan-to-value ratio shall be between 0 to 20 percent.

In addition, the Board of Directors of Stora Enso, in consultation with the selected management and proposed members of the Board of Directors of Bergslagets Skogar, has decided on a dividend policy for Bergslagets Skogar with the aim to pay a stable and growing dividend. As ordinary dividend, Bergslagets Skogar intends to distribute between 80 to 100 percent of adjusted net income (Adjusted net income defined as net profit or loss for the period, excluding change in net value of biological assets, profits and losses on sale of fixed assets and investments, excluding items affecting comparability, and less investments in reforestation of biological assets after tax).

Certain preliminary unaudited illustrative key financial information of Bergslagets Skogar

The preliminary unaudited illustrative key financial information of Bergslagets Skogar presented is based on the unaudited combined financial information for financial year 2025 and twelve-month period ending 30 September 2026. Accounting policy elections for Bergslagets Skogar are materially identical with those made by Stora Enso Group with the exception for initial recognition of silviculture expenditures and application of IFRS 18 (Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements). Bergslagets Skogar would elect another policy related to silviculture expenditures related to reforestation. Bergslagets Skogar would, unlike Stora Enso, recognise expenditures for reforestation as an investment in forest assets. Further Bergslagets Skogar has voluntarily elected to apply IFRS 18 even though it is only mandatory for financial periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027. The combined financial information reflects the Swedish forest operation controlled by Stora Enso Group as of the reporting date. While operations have been conducted through both separate and shared legal entities, key operational transfers occurred during 2025 and 2026, and no adjustments have been made to reflect stand-alone costs. Further financial information will be provided in Bergslagets Skogar's Capital Markets Day presentation, with more comprehensive financial information to be provided in the subsequent Information Brochure and listing prospectus.

Financial impacts on Stora Enso

The Demerger is not expected to have a material impact on Stora Enso's reported sales, as sales generated by Bergslagets Skogar have historically been largely internal transactions within the Stora Enso Group. Following the Demerger, Stora Enso's operating profit (IFRS) will largely decrease by an amount corresponding to Bergslagets Skogar's operating profit (IFRS), as presented above.