The French paper distribution group Antalis is to be taken over by the Japanese group Kokusai Pulp and Paper (KPP). The European leader and the world leader (outside the United States) in B2B distribution of paper and packaging solutions had been looking for a new shareholder structure for over a year due to the court-ordered liquidation of its parent company Sequana in May 2019 .
On 31 March 2020, the Japanese group and Sequana d'Antalis entered into an agreement to purchase all of the Antalis shares held by Sequana d'Antalis - i.e. 75.2% of the share capital - at a price of
KPP will then launch a simplified tender offer for all the remaining Antalis shares, i.e. 16.3% of the share capital at a price of
In parallel with this promise to purchase, a credit restructuring agreement was signed between KPP, Antalis and its creditors, providing for the repayment of 100 million euros through new financing from the Japanese bank Mizuho. 100 million will be repaid through new financing provided by the Japanese bank Mizuho. The remainder of the loans will be forgiven. 287.1 million at 31 December 2019.
Birth of a leading group on four continents
Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, KPP is a leading Japanese paper distribution group in Japan, Asia and Australia, with sales of approximately ?3.2 billion.
2.1 billion in 2019 and 4?700 employees) will create a world leader in the distribution of paper, packaging and visual communications on four continents - Asia, Europe, Australia and Latin America. Antalis is the world's leading distributor of paper (no. 1 outside the United States) and industrial packaging products and the second largest distributor of visual communications media in Europe.
The new group will represent a turnover of approximately ?5.3 billion, which corresponds to 3.3 million tonnes of paper sold.
"Antalis' Board of Directors has welcomed the acquisition of KPP, which should provide the company with a long-term shareholder that will support its future development said Pascal Lebard, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Antalis.
