OREANDA-NEWS. Ilim Pulp, the largest forest-products company in Russia, and International Paper, the leading forest-products company in the world, have announced plans to form a joint venture that will help boost the global stature of a key sector of the rapidly growing Russian economy.

The joint venture will be created through International Paper purchasing a fifty-percent equity interest in Ilim Holding. The total valuation of Ilim Holding is approximately USD1.3 billion.

Ilim Holding owns four of the largest pulp and paper mills in Russia, which are spread across the nation’s European and Siberian expanses. The mills currently are being consolidated into the Russian open joint-stock company, Ilim Group, a subsidiary of Ilim Holding.

Ilim Group will be governed jointly by a Board of Directors comprising representatives of Ilim Pulp and International Paper and will be headquartered in St. Petersburg.