Arauco will specify the acquisition of Masisa's industrial assets in Mexico for the USD 160 million

Arauco will specify the acquisition of Masisa's industrial assets in Mexico for the US $ 160 million.

Arauco will specify the acquisition of Masisa's industrial assets in Mexico for the USD 160 million
The operation will contemplate two complexes versus the three initially considered and will materialize on January 31. Photo: Arauco

Arauco and Masisa reported Friday that they modified the acquisition agreement signed in December 2017 for the acquisition by the Angelini group of industrial assets in Mexico, with which the operation will finally contemplate two complexes located in Durango and Zitacuáro, for a total of US $ 160 million.

At the end of 2017, the companies had reported that the acquisition which will be made through the subsidiaries Inversiones Arauco Internacional and AraucoMex, would total the US $ 245 million. Masisa said that he chose to maintain ownership of an industrial complex located in Chihuahua, which had been initially included in the agreement, so it will remain a relevant player in that country.

Both companies indicated that the transaction will be finalized on January 31 after having received approval from the Mexican free competition authority. With the acquisition, Arauco will reach an installed capacity of 10 million m3 of wood panels, consolidating its position as the second producer worldwide.

This transaction is part of the divestment process of Masisa's industrial assets in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico announced on July 17, 2017.

The general corporate manager of Masisa, Roberto Salas, stressed that "this process will allow Masisa to focus its commercial activity on higher value-added businesses in the Pacific region (Chile and Andean Countries, Mexico, the United States, Canada, Central America, and others). export markets), maintaining its productive capacity to supply the region from Chile, Mexico, and Venezuela ".

The executive said that with these divestments the company will significantly lower its level of indebtedness, which together with a reduction in corporate and operational expenses already implemented, will allow a significant improvement in the profitability of its business.

Masisa said that after the operation will have a negative equity effect of US $ 25 million and an effect on results of US $ 57 million, a difference explained by the reclassification of conversion reserves.

Meanwhile, Arauco said it expects the acquisition will have positive results in the company's results, which, however, for the moment are not possible to quantify.

As part of the disinvestment plan, at the beginning of December 2017, Masisa made the sale of two industrial complexes in Brazil, also to Arauco for the US $ 102.8 million, while in September of that year it materialized the sale of the industrial complex located in Concordia, Argentina, to the Austrian company that manufactures wooden boards called Egger Holzwerkstoffe GmbH for the US $ 155 million.