Neumarkt, Germany — Uniboard USA, a subsidiary of listed Pfleiderer AG, has announced the signing of an agreement to sell its MDF and Particleboard facilities located in Moncure, North Carolina to a subsidiary of the Chilean manufacturer, Paneles Arauco, for a consideration (including working capital) of $62 million (EUR 47,5 million). The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2012 with subject to certain terms and conditions.
The sale of the Moncure site is considered a major milestone in the planned overall sales process of Pfleiderer’s North American operations. It is believed the transaction should considerably facilitate the sale of Uniboard´s Canadian sites after a sales analysis has shown it would be difficult to sell Uniboard Flooring with both the Canadian facilities and the Moncure site.
Hans-Joachim Ziems, Chief Restructuring Officer and Board Member of Pfleiderer AG, commented, “The sale of Moncure is a major achievement. We are fully on track with the overall sales process in North America and are very confident to generate the envisaged proceeds.”
This transaction will not affect the ability of Uniboard Canada to service its North American client base as it still owns and operates a number of Canadian manufacturing sites.
The sale of Pfleiderer’s North American operations forms part of the restructuring plan for the Pfleiderer Group and is expected to be completed within the first half of 2012. Following major restructuring of its European business, Pfleiderer increased revenue and improved substantially operating results in Western and Eastern Europe in the first 9 months of 2011 and showed a net profit in Q3 (continuing operations). However, the group result continues to be impacted negatively fromthe North American operations.