International Paper to sell ownership in Ilim joint venture for $484M

International Paper announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its 50% interest in Ilim SA, the holding company for its Ilim joint venture, to its JV partners for $484M equity value. The sale is subject to regulatory approvals in Russia. This transaction indicates ~$3.5B in total enterprise value for Ilim based on a ~3.1X EBITDA multiple on 2022 full-year results. The company also received an indication of interest from its JV partners to purchase all of the company’s shares (constituting a 2.39% stake) in JSC Ilim Group for $24M on terms and conditions to be agreed. The company intends to pursue an agreement to sell the JSC Ilim Group shares, and to divest other non-material residual interests associated with Ilim, to its JV partners.