UPM has sold the land on which its Chapelle Darblay newsprint mill stood to the local authority which had prevented a transfer to a third party.
The asset sale to the Community of Rouen covers land, buildings and equipment, with no personnel being transferred.
The papermaker had stopped production in June 2020, and had agreed a social plan for employees at the mill in Grand-Couronne, France, and had agreed its sale to a consortium of partners, Samfi and Paprec France SAS, last October.
However, the Community of Rouen then pre-empted the sale of the land and buildings in February, cancelling the sale to Samfi and Paprec.
UPM says it will remain committed to the French newsprint market and will continue close collaboration with its partners and customers in the country.