Fibria, a company resulting from the merger of Aracruz Celulose and Votorantim Celulose e Papel (VCP), announced on December 8 the conclusion of the sales contract of its plant in Guaíba (RS) to the Chilean Group CMPC. The value of the deal is US$ 1.43 billion. The transaction does not include US$ 180 million in equipment and contracts with suppliers, which can be used by Fibria in its future expansion projects. The closure of the operation is forecast for December.

“It was an excellent deal that came just at the right time”, affirmed Carlos Aguiar, CEO of Fibria. “Besides the injection into the company of important funds, optimizing our capital structure, the sale will enable the resumption of high-return projects associated with our strategy of sustainable growth”, he added. The value of the transaction represents around 11.2 times EBITDA – income before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization – forecast for Fibria in 2009.

In addition, the operation permits the extension of the company’s debt profile, creating conditions for the recovery of investment levels and rendering viable the anticipation of projects. “This operation allows Fibria to go back to making its investments in forestry as soon as 2010, and in factories by 2011, depending on market conditions at the time”, quote.

The Guaíba business deal involved a pulp factory with a production capacity of approximately 450 thousand tons per year, a paper factory with a production capacity of around 60 thousand tons per year and land covering an area of approximately 212 thousand hectares (of which 32 thousand hectares comprehend leased areas in partnership or under incentives). The payment terms of the deal will be US$1 billion on December 15, 2009 and US$ 430 million on January 30, 2010.