Helsinki, Finland 11 December 2008 -- The Finnish State and Solidium Oy (company id 0866693-1) have announced an arrangement that has resulted in the Finnish State’s holdings in Metso Corporation to fall below and Solidium Oy’s holdings to exceed the thresholds set out in the Finnish Securities Markets Act, section 9 of chapter 2.

The Finnish State has on 11 December 2008, transferred all its Metso Corporation shares to the entirely state-owned Solidium Oy as a capital contribution.

The shares transferred to Solidium Oy include 15,695,287 Metso Corporation shares, which corresponds to 11.07% of the paid-up share capital and votes in Metso. After the transfer, there are no Metso Corporation shares owned by the state.

Underlying the arrangement, the government decided on 21 October 2008, to propose to Parliament that state-owned equities in eight listed companies, including Metso Corporation, be transferred to the entirely state-owned Solidium Oy. The arrangement materialized when the proposal was accepted in Parliament in connection with the supplementary budget.

Metso is a global supplier of sustainable technology and services for mining and construction, power generation, automation, recycling and the pulp and paper industries. We have over 28,000 employees in more than 50 countries. www.metso.com