IP, Stora Enso to Merge?

STAMFORD, CT—While a report in an August edition of the Swedish business daily Dagens Industri indicated that International Paper and Stora Enso were in merger talks that would create the largest worldwide paper concern at $40 billion, it seemed unlikely to happen any time soon.

Citing unnamed sources, Dagens Industri reported that talks have been ongoing for the past year. Both IP, based here, and Stora Enso, with headquarters in Helsinki, Finland, and Stockholm, Sweden, refused to comment on the report, calling it a market rumor.