ITOCHU Announces Partial Sale of Shares in Metsä Fibre Oy, a Finnish Pulp Manufacturer
February 5, 2026
ITOCHU Corporation (Headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced that it has completed partial sale of shares in Metsä Fibre Oy (hereinafter “Metsä Fibre”), a Finnish pulp manufacturer and an equity-method affiliate of ITOCHU’s wholly owned subsidiary, ITOCHU FIBRE LIMITED (Headquartered in London, UK; hereinafter “IFL”), to Metsä Group, as follows.
１．Overview of Share Sale
| Number of shares to be sold | 3,884 shares |
|---|---|
| Closing date | February 4, 2026 |
| Number of shares to be held after the sale | 15,149 shares Shareholding ratio after this sale: 19.9% of total issued shares |
２．Future Policy
ITOCHU has steadily expanded its pulp business under a strong partnership with Metsä Fibre since investing in the company through IFL in 2012.
However, in recent years, the business has faced structural challenges such as pulp market slowdown and sharp rise in raw material cost, both derived from multiple geopolitical factors.
Given these challenges, ITOCHU has reviewed the appropriate degree of our capital involvement in the business.
Going forward, ITOCHU will further deepen cooperative relationship with Metsä Group as a strategic partner with strengthening our efforts in expanding the commercial presence of Metsä Fibre’s products particularly in the Asian market and exploring new opportunities for group-wide collaboration.