Johannesburg, South Africa 02 June 2014 -- Sappi Fine Paper Europe is discussing the sale of its Nijmegen coated woodfree paper mill in the Netherlands with a potential, unnamed buyer. Sappi explained it was in exclusive talks with a "paper-related company" on the sale of the Nijmegen site, but declined to reveal further details on the identity of that company.

The sale of the Nijmegen mill was one of the options and still had the priority for Sappi, a company spokesperson explained. However, potential buyers could purchase the mill only if they consented not to produce the current range of fine paper products in the future. The other of the two options for the Nijmegen site was the closure, as already announced last September.

The Nijmegen mill runs one paper machine with an installed capacity of 240,000 tpy of woodfree coated reel paper. According to the company, the options and possibilities for alternative products to be produced at the facility in Nijmegen are virtually unlimited due to the "flexibility in the production process" and "flexibility of the staff."