Sappi Southern Africa Proprietary Limited ZAR1,500,000,000 NOTE ISSUES

JOHANNESBURG, April 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sappi Southern Africa Proprietary Limited (NYSE: SPP, JSE: SAP) is pleased to announce that on 16 April 2013 it will issue ZAR255,000,000 Senior Unsecured Floating Rate Notes due 16 April 2016 (the SSA04 Notes), ZAR500,000,000 Senior Unsecured Floating Rate Notes due 16 April 2018 (the SSA05 Notes) and ZAR745,000,000 Senior Unsecured 8.06% Fixed Rate Notes due 16 April 2020 (the SSA06 Notes) (the SSA04 Notes, the SSA05 Notes and the SSA06 Notes collectively the Notes or the Issue) which collectively amount to ZAR1,500,000,000 under its ZAR5,000,000,000 Domestic Medium Term Note Programme dated 22 June 2011.  The Notes will be listed on the Interest Rate Market of the JSE Limited.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110728/MM43821LOGO )

The proceeds of the Notes issued will be used to repay the maturing ZAR1,000,000,000 SMF 1 bond in June 2013, and the remainder will be used to fund a portion of the dissolving wood pulp conversion project at the Ngodwana Mill near Nelspruit.

Commenting on the placement, Sappi Limited Chief Executive Officer Ralph Boettger said: "In line with our strategy, this successful bond placement further reduces Sappi's cost of finance and further improves our debt maturity profile. We are also satisfied with the positive rates we were able to achieve." 

Dealers
Nedbank Capital, a division of Nedbank Limited
Rand Merchant Bank, a division of First Rand Bank Limited

Legal Advisor
Bowman Gilfillan Incorporated

Forward-looking statements

Certain statements in this release that are neither reported financial results nor other historical information, are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements that are predictions of or indicate future earnings, savings, synergies, events, trends, plans or objectives.

The words "believe", "anticipate", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "assume", "positioned", "will", "may", "should", "risk" and other similar expressions, which are predictions of or indicate future events and future trends, which do not relate to historical matters, identify forward-looking statements. You should not rely on forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are in some cases beyond our control and may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements (and from past results, performance or achievements). Certain factors that may cause such differences include but are not limited to:

• the highly cyclical nature of the pulp and paper industry (and the factors that contribute to such cyclicality, such as levels of demand, production capacity, production, input costs including raw material, energy and employee costs, and pricing);
• the impact on our business of the global economic downturn;
• unanticipated production disruptions (including as a result of planned or unexpected power outages);
• changes in environmental, tax and other laws and regulations;
• adverse changes in the markets for our products;
• the emergence of new technologies and changes in consumer trends including increased preferences for digital media;
• consequences of our leverage, including as a result of adverse changes in credit markets that affect our ability to raise capital when needed;
• adverse changes in the political situation and economy in the countries in which we operate or the effect of governmental efforts to address present or future economic or social problems;
• the impact of restructurings, investments, acquisitions, dispositions and other strategic initiatives (including related financing), any delays, unexpected costs or other problems experienced in connection with dispositions or with integrating acquisitions or implementing restructuring or strategic initiatives (including our announced dissolving wood pulp conversion projects), and achieving expected savings and synergies; and
• currency fluctuations.

We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward looking statements, whether to reflect new information or future events or circumstances or otherwise.

Sappi Southern Africa Proprietary Limited
Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa
(Registration number 1951/003180/07)

SOURCE Sappi Southern Africa Proprietary Limited