With an eye on the potential for sustainable packaging, Sweden’s AMF announced it is increasing its stake in pulp and paper manufacturer BillerudKorsnäs, and will now be the largest shareholder in the firm with 12.2% of voting capital.
The pension fund – Sweden’s second-largest occupational provider – said yesterday it had upped its ownership stake by buying around 3.5m of shares in the company in the late autumn.
AMF did not reveal how much it paid for the shares, but with BillerudKorsnäs’ shares trading today at SEK188.60 (€18.68) on Nasdaq Stockholm, the investment would have cost SEK660m (€65m) if made now.
Anders Oscarsson, head of equities and responsible ownership at AMF said: “We believe BillerudKorsnäs has good conditions to grow and develop further, not least through its role in the global transition.”
AMF said the firm – which was formed from the merger of competing firms Billerud and Korsnäs nine years ago – produced sustainable packaging materials, and had customers in over 100 countries.
Tomas Flodén, head of asset management at AMF, said the investment would contribute to good, long-term returns, and was also an opportunity to support Swedish companies in leading the development towards a more sustainable future.
The pension provider for blue-collar workers said that alongside this investment, it had other significant investments in the Swedish forestry industry including an 8.5% stake in forestry manager SCA; a 5.2% stake in hygiene and health company Essity – as well as owning just under 90% of the share capital of forestry and land firm Bergvik Skog Öst.
AMF bought the stake in the latter from BillerudKorsnäs two years ago, in a deal which included an agreement between the paper firm and the forestry firm regarding the supply of wood for manufacturing products.
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