The sale should be completed by the end of September.
Price & Pierce is a trading house specialising in paperboard, paper and pulp, which was acquired by M-real in 1998.
M-real senior vice-president and chief financial officer, Juhani Ph, said the company had been looking to dispose of Price & Pierce for some time.
Although he would not disclose a figure for the transaction, the monies would be used to reduce M-real's debt.
The sale forms part of M-real's action plan to divest itself of its non-core assets.
Gould Paper chairman and president Harry Gould Jr said he had originally tried to buy Price & Pierce 12 years ago.
"This acquisition fits in with our ultimate goal and expands our global position," he said.
Initially, Price & Pierce will remain a stand alone business.
Estimated net sales for the group in 2004 are in the region of 66m (EUR100m).
Its UK subsidiary WWF International UK acquired rival paper merchant the Salehurst Group in February this year (PrintWeek, 19 February).
Price & Pierce Group has offices across Europe, including Finland, and also the US, Dubai, New Zealand and south-east Asia.
Founded in 1924, Gould Paper Corporation is based in New York, and is the third largest distributor of fine papers in North America with annual sales of 547m.
Story by Andy Scott
