The owners of the family-owned Haindl consortium decided to sell the company in 2000. It was bought in a joint deal, where UPM took over four and Norske Skog bought two of the mills—Parenco and Walsum. The deal took effect on 30 November 2001, with Norske Skog paying 8.2 billion Norwegian krone for the two mills. Norske Skog was in a process of specialization, selling all non-core assets while purchasing a dominant position in the world's newsprint and magazine paper market.