Svenska Cellulosa, Europe's largest private owner of forests, will create two divisions, one for forest products and another for consumer products, in a move that could foreshadow a break-up of the company.
The Swedish company’s swathes of woodlands will be combined with paper, pulp and sawn-timber operations to better highlight the value of the operation, while tissue and personal-care products will form a separate entity, the Stockholm-based company said. Shares climbed as much as 6.2 per cent.
“This announcement splits SCA clearly into two parts,” analyst James Wyatt of Exane BNP Paribas said in a note.
“Could part of the motivation here be to ready the company for a split? The answer is unclear but will certainly be something for the bulls to latch on to today.”
