.jpg?v=1)
With the support of CMS Austria, Mayr-Melnhof Holz is continuing its successful course of expansion. Shortly before the end of the year, the traditional Austrian company signed a contract to take over the Swedish sawmill group Bergkvist Siljan. In the 2022 financial year, the company will thus achieve sales of more than EUR 1 billion for the first time in its 170-year history.
With this acquisition, Mayr-Melnhof Holz, one of the leading companies in the European sawmill and wood processing industry, is expanding its production capacity by around 50 percent to more than 5.0 million solids cubic metres of sawn timber per year.
The closing of the transaction took place on 1 February 2022. The parties agreed not to disclose the financial details of the transaction.
“We are very pleased that we were able to successfully assist the Mayr-Melnhof Holz Group with this important step in its expansion. The short period of time over which this transaction was negotiated and contractually agreed was exceptional,” said Rainer Wachter, Co-Head of Corporate Transactions at CMS Austria.
The CMS team consisted of partner Rainer Wachter (lead), partner Oliver Werner (M&A, W&I Insurance) and lead associate Marco Selenic. Associate Matthias Emich from the corporate team provided support. CMS’s competition law work was handled by partner Dieter Zandler with support from associates Vanessa Horaceck and Arno Scharf. Swedish law firm Wistrand Advokatbyrå (Lead Partner Robert Kullgren) assisted CMS and Mayr-Melnhof Holz.
Sustainability in focus
Mayr-Melnhof Holz is one of a large number of CMS clients who place the issue of sustainability at the centre of their business activities. For example, the company obtains its raw wood exclusively from sustainably managed forests. With the acquisition, the existing sawmills in Leoben (Austria), Paskov (Czech Republic) and Efimovskij (Russia) have now been joined by three new sites in central Sweden.
