UPDATE 1-Altri to spin off steel unit

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LISBON, April 16 (Reuters) - Portuguese paper and pulp maker Altri (ALSS.LS: Quote, Profile, Research) will spin off steel unit F. Ramada, offering shareholders one share of the new company for every four Altri shares they own.

Altri said in a statement the spin-off would offer greater transparency and market value to its two main business areas and had been motivated by the increasing management challenges posed by the growing size of its paper and pulp business.

The steel business will be wrapped into a company called Ramada Investimentos, which will begin to trade separately on the Lisbon stock exchange in July. (Reporting by Axel Bugge, editing by Will Waterman)