Metso to acquire Aker Kvaerner's Pulping and Power business.

METSO TO ACQUIRE AKER KVAERNER'S PULPING AND POWER BUSINESS. Metso, Helsinki, Finland and Aker Kvaerner have signed a Letter of Intent whereby Metso intends to acquire Aker Kvaerner's Pulping and Power business. The acquisition is subject to due diligence and signing of a final agreement. The parties aim to sign the final agreement by mid-April 2006. The final closing will require relevant regulatory approvals, The agreed cash and interest-bearing debt free enterprise value is EUR 335 million, which is subject to closing adjustments.

The acquisition will enable Metso Paper to complement its Fiber Business Line's product scope with Aker Kvaerner's technology. Following the successful completion of the transaction, Metso Paper will be able to deliver all core processes for modern pulp mills, including chemical pulping lines, chemical recovery and power generation for pulp and paper production. Aker Kvaerner's Pulping and Power business has approximately 2000 employees, with main operations in Sweden, Finland, the United States, Canada, Japan and Brazil. In 2005, it had net sales of EUR 565 million and recorded EUR 35 million operating profit after corporate allocations. The order backlog on December 31, 2005 was EUR 600 million.

IN OTHER METSO NEWS:

* Metso Paper has agreed to buy the entire share capital of Shanghai-Chenming Paper Machinery Co. Ltd., Jiading, China. The company is currently owned by Shandong Chenming and Shanghai Heavy Machinery. The transaction is subject to approval by the Chinese authorities. The Shanghai-Chenming Paper Machinery's foundry and machine shop manufacture narrow paper and board machines for the Chinese market as well as dry-end components. The company employs 630 people and had net sales equivalent to EUR 13 million in 2004. The company's current main owner, Shandong Chenming, is one of the biggest paper manufacturers in China and a Metso Paper customer.

* Metso Paper has concluded the sale of certain assets of its water management business to GL & V, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The divestment covers the assets in wastewater treatment, including microfloatation and the FlooBed bioreactor.

* Metso Paper will supply Mondi Packaging Swiecie S.A. in Poland with a rebuild of their PM 1 sack paper machine to produce lightweight kraftliner. The rebuilt machine, which will have a capacity of 180,000 metric tons/yr, will start up in June 2007. The order is valued at more than EUR 10 million. The modernization of the 6.1-meter wide (wire) machine contains, among other things, an OptiFlo II headbox and an Opti-Former gap former.

* Metso Paper has published its renewed Chinese web site at www.metsopaper.com/cn. The design and contents of the new site conform to Metso Paper's global web pages, giving an overall view of Metso Paper's fiber and paper technology solutions, as well as introducing the company's local customer services in China.

* AssiDoman Cartonboard's Frovi Mill, Sweden, has started up the one thousandth TwinRoll wash press manufactured by Metso Paper. The Frovi Mill produces liquid packaging board and general packaging board mainly for food deliveries. The press type TRPW-940 represents the latest generation of TwinRoll presses and was installed after the bleached stock storage tower to dewater bleached hardwood pulp in the board mill.

* Two Metso Paper-supplied paper machines at two separate UPM paper mills recently set new world speed records. For LWC paper, UPM Rauma mill's PM 4 in Finland set a new world speed record of 1912 m/min (6273 ft/min) in a 24-hour run that began on January 2, 2006. For fine paper, a new world speed record was set in China, by UPM Changshu mill's PM 1, which was run at 1620 m/min (5315 fpm) for more than 24 hours starting on January 9, 2006 (see photo).

* Metso Paper will supply fiberline technology to Abhishek Industries Ltd., a subsidiary of the Trident Group, for its expansion project at Barnala in Punjab, India. With a daily production capacity of 225 metric tons, the new line will be the largest wheat straw fiberline ever built. The order is valued at over EUR 11 million and is scheduled to start up in 2007. The order covers process machinery for continuous cooking of annual fiber, and washing, screening, and bleaching of straw pulp for printing and writing papers.

* Metso Paper will modernize a pulp drying line at Votorantim Celulose e Papel's (VCP) Jacarei mill in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The rebuild covers all process stages, from screening to cutter. The order is valued at EUR 10 million and the rebuilt line will start up in July 2006.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]