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MND/MNP - Mondi Limited - Mondi Group divests its merchant operations in

Release Date: 05/05/2010 08:02
Code(s): MND MNP
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MND/MNP - Mondi Limited - Mondi Group divests its merchant operations in central Europe and Russia Mondi Limited (Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa) (Registration number: 1967/013038/06) JSE share code: MND ISIN: ZAE000097051 Mondi plc (Incorporated in England and Wales) (Registration number: 6209386) JSE share code: MNP ISIN: GB00B1CRLC47 LSE share code: MNDI As part of the dual listed company structure, Mondi Limited and Mondi plc (together `Mondi Group`) notify both the JSE Limited and the London Stock Exchange of matters required to be disclosed under the JSE Listings Requirements and/or the Disclosure and Transparency and Listing Rules of the United Kingdom Listing Authority. Mondi Group divests its merchant operations in central Europe and Russia Mondi confirms that it has signed an agreement with the Heinzel Group for the sale of 100% of its shares in Europapier, a paper merchant business selling graphic, packaging and office papers, as well as other office supplies to customers across central Europe and Russia. Europapier is a leading paper merchant in Austria and has leading market positions in Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. The shares in Europapier are to be sold for a consideration of EUR60 million on a cash and debt free basis. The consideration will be satisfied in cash at completion and will be used to reduce Mondi`s net debt. The value of the gross assets subject to the divestiture amounted to EUR151 million as of 31 December 2009. Europapier`s losses before tax for the year ended 31 December 2009 were EUR6.5 million. The loss on disposal of the business will be around EUR25 million and will be accounted for as a non operating special item. Mondi Group CEO David Hathorn said "This is an important step which allows us to increase the focus on our core business whilst also creating the opportunity for Europapier to position itself as a fully independent paper merchant in the future". The completion of the deal is conditional on the approval of the relevant competition authorities. /ends Contact Lora Rossler Mondi Group Tel: +27 31 451 2111 Email: lora.rossler@mondigroup.co.za Chloe Webb Financial Dynamics Tel: +27 11 214 2421 Email: chloe.webb@fd.com About Mondi Mondi is an international paper and packaging company, with production operations across 31 countries and revenues of Euro5.3 billion in 2009. The Group`s key operations are located in western and emerging Europe, Russia and South Africa and employed 31,000 people on average in 2009. Mondi is fully integrated across the paper and packaging process, from the growing of wood and the manufacture of pulp and paper (including recycled paper), to the conversion of packaging papers into corrugated packaging and industrial bags. The Group is principally involved in the manufacture of uncoated fine paper (UFP), packaging paper and converted packaging products, as well as speciality products. Mondi is a dual listed company, with primary listings on the Johannesburg and London stock exchanges under the ticker codes MND (JSE) and MNDI (LSE) respectively. The Group has been recognised for its sustainability performance through its inclusion in the FTSE4Good UK, Europe and Global indices in 2008 and 2009 and the JSE`s Socially Responsible Investment SRI) Index in 2007, 2008 and 2009. 5 May 2010 Sponsor : UBS South Africa (Pty) Ltd Date: 05/05/2010 08:02:36 Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za Produced by the JSE SENS Department. The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the JSE Limited (`JSE`). The JSE does not, whether expressly, tacitly or implicitly, represent, warrant or in any way guarantee the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information published on SENS. The JSE, their officers, employees and agents accept no liability for (or in respect of) any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage of any kind or nature, howsoever arising, from the use of SENS or the use of, or reliance on, information disseminated through SENS.

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