Fibria Reaches Non-Core Sale Agreement

Fibria has agreed to sell $313m in non-core assets to Oji Paper, firming up a process started last month when Fibria entered into exclusive talks with the Japanese buyer. The deal includes the Piracicaba facility that produces heat-sensitive, self-copying and couche paper, and marks the last of Fibria’s non-core assets to go as part of a long-term deleveraging plan. “They wanted to be a one-product company making pulp, and that’s their major product line,” a US-based industry analyst explains. The asset sale also helps bring down the company’s high debt, the analyst said. The deal is expected to close September 29, subject to government approval. Goldman Sachs advised Fibria.