At the end of a long three-month stock market battle, the American IP - INTERNATIONAL PAPER has taken over its compatriot CHAMPION, beating its Finnish rival UPM-KYMMENE. The operation involves $9.5 bn, corresponding to $75 a share. It gives rise to a new entity which becomes number one in the sector with 14.4 million tonnes of paper a year, now ahead of the Finnish giant ENSO STORA (13.7 million tonnes a year). See EI of 12 May.