A rise in the price of newsprint seems to have delayed the anxiously awaited sale of Norwegian forest products company Norske Skog. Newsprint is one of the company’s major products, and higher prices for it may be affecting the firm’s valuation.
Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) reported on Friday that newsprint prices have risen as much as 11 percent in Germany so far this year, and even more in the US and Asia. That’s good news for companies producing it, like Norske Skog, but they’re also experiencing higher costs of buying timber. It can all be making it more difficult to value Norske Skog, and bidders may be under pressure to raise their offers for the company.
Around five parties are believed to have submitted bids for Norske Skog’s plants, including Norwegian industrialist Jens Ulltveit-Moe. A sale was expected before the Easter holidays, but employees and others have instead been left waiting for a final confirmation of who’ll be taking over the paper producer.
newsinenglish.no staff
