Sayenko Kharenko – legal counsel on the Ukrainian competition law matters for a multinational merger of companies in paper industry

Sayenko Kharenko antitrust team has provided legal assistance to UPM-Kymmene Corporation, Europe’s second-biggest papermaker (“UPM”) in merger clearance with the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (the “AMC”) for EUR 890 million acquisition of Myllykoski Corporation and its German affiliate Rhein Papier GmbH (“Myllykoski”).

This transaction is seen as an important step towards much-needed consolidation in the European paper industry, which has been struggling with overcapacity and weak profitability.

Myllykoski consists of seven paper mills in Germany, Finland and the United States. The total annual paper production capacity is 2.8 million tonnes. UPM, a Finnish paper company, is one of the world’s leading companies in the paper industry. The company comprises three Business Groups: Energy and pulp, Paper, and Engineered materials.

UPM provides a wide range of innovative solutions which are recyclable or biodegradable and produced using bioenergy where possible.

After the review of the proposed transaction, the AMC concluded that its implementation neither poses threats to competition nor significantly limits competition on any product market in Ukraine.

Sayenko Kharenko competition team for the current transaction included counsel Dmitry Taranyk and associate Maksym Nazarenko.