INKISH.NEWS -

Today, March 31st 2020, Kokusai Pulp & Paper Co., Ltd (KPP) announced the takeover of Antalis. This is a MAJOR acquisition and a very important one. KPP is one of the leading paper suppliers in Asia (Japan, Asia, and Australia), and the combined company becomes the worlds largest paper supplier with an estimated turnover of 5.3 billion euro. Antalis was until today (formalities apply), owned by Sequana and minority shareholder Bpifrance. Sequana doesn't appear to have other activities than Antalis since it sold the shares of Arjowiggins earlier in 2018. By selling off its shares, it seems that the owner is closing its business?

The reason why this is important is since Antalis and other paper distributors have quite severe difficulties both finding their role in the new print landscape as well as making money. The printing landscape is changing these years dramatically. Some printers are so big that they buy directly from the mills, and this has typically been the case with the paper supplied on rolls - for newspapers, web-offset printing companies, but now also for digital roll-based printers.

For KPP, this seems to be a brilliant opportunity to extend the current business globally. With Antalis, the company can probably grow their volume even more, and therefore become even more important for the paper suppliers they represent. The interesting thing is, of course, what changes, the acquisition will lead to, since Antalis, in my opinion, need better marketing, better usage of its brand and market position, and should be able to earn larger market shares. The interesting question is, of course, whether Antalis will be able to utilize its global presence better owned by KPP.

UPDATE: As part of the deal 187 million Euro has been depreciated of Antalis' debt leaving Antalis in a much better shape.

The full press-release is here.

Mar 31, 2020

Author: Morten B. Reitoft