Stora Enso buys Dutch packaging company De Jong

HELSINKI (Reuters) -Finnish forestry group Stora Enso said on Thursday it had agreed to buy Dutch packaging company De Jong for an enterprise value of 1.02 billion euros ($1.02 billion) which includes 250 million in lease liabilities.

Stora Enso said the addition would increase its corrugated packaging capacity by around 1,200 million square metres (m2) to more than 2,000 million, including De Jong Packaging Group’s ongoing expansion projects.

“This acquisition will advance Stora Enso’s strategic direction, accelerate revenue growth and build market share in renewable packaging in Europe,” it said.

Stora said it expected to finalise the deal in early 2023.

($1 = 1.0002 euros)

(Reporting by Essi Lehto, editing by Anna Ringstrom)