NewPage and Stora Enso Clear Hart-Scott-Rodino Waiting Period

Miamisburg, Ohio, USA, 26 November 2007 -– NewPage Corporation announced today that the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 in connection with its previously announced acquisition of the North American operations of Stora Enso Oyj (NYSE: SEO) has expired. Expiration of the waiting period satisfies a condition to completing the acquisition. The companies expect to close the transaction by the first quarter of 2008.

As announced on 21 September 2007, Stora Enso Oyj and the NewPage parent company, NewPage Holding Corporation, signed a definitive agreement by which NewPage will acquire Stora Enso's paper manufacturing operations in North America. Under the terms of the agreement, Stora Enso Oyj will receive approximately USD 1.5 billion in cash and a USD 200 million note from and a 19.9% equity interest in a new parent holding company. Combined, the new operating company, which will be called NewPage Corporation, will be the North American industry leader in publication, fine and specialty paper.

About NewPage Corporation

NewPage Corporation, headquartered in Miamisburg, Ohio, is a leading U.S. producer of coated papers in North America. The company produces coated papers in sheets and rolls with many finishes and weights to offer design flexibility for a wide array of end uses. With more than 4300 employees, NewPage operates integrated pulp and paper manufacturing mills located in Escanaba, Michigan; Luke, Maryland; Rumford, Maine; and Wickliffe, Kentucky; and a converting and distribution center in Chillicothe, Ohio. The mills have a combined annual capacity of approximately 2.2 million tons of coated paper.

The Stora Enso North America business moving to NewPage will include the Stora Enso papermaking operations in Biron, Kimberly, Niagara, Stevens Point, Whiting and Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin; Duluth, Minnesota; and Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, Canada. Stora Enso North America is a leading producer of coated and supercalendered papers, and a premier producer of specialty papers. Other products include newsprint, elemental chlorine-free kraft pulp, totally chlorine-free mechanical pulp, and recycled pulp from recovered paper. The company produces 3.0 million tons of paper annually and had revenues of USD 2.3 billion and about 4350 employees in 2006.