SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 13D
Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
MERCER INTERNATIONAL INC.
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(Name of Issuer)
Shares of Beneficial Interest
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(Title of Class of Securities)
5880561015
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(CUSIP NUMBER)
GREENLIGHT CAPITAL, L.L.C.
420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 875
New York, New York 10170
Tel. No.: (212) 973-1900
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(Name, Address and Telephone Number of Person
Authorized to Receive Notices and Communications)
- with copies to -
Eliot D. Raffkind, P.C.
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P.
1700 Pacific Avenue, Suite 4100
Dallas, Texas 75201-4675
(214) 969-2800
December 18, 1997
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(Date of event which requires filing of this statement)
If the filing person has previously filed a statement on Schedule 13G to report
the acquisition which is the subject of this Schedule 13D, and is filing this
schedule because of Rule 13d-1(b)(3) or (4) check the following box [ ]
The information required in the remainder of this cover page shall not be deemed
to be "filed" for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended ("Act"), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that
section of the Act but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act.
<PAGE>
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CUSIP No. 13D Page ___ of ___Pages
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NAME OF REPORTING PERSONS
S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NOS. OF ABOVE PERSONS
1 Greenlight Capital, L.L.C.
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CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP* (a)[ ]
2 (b)[ ]
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3 SEC USE ONLY
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SOURCE OF FUNDS*
4 AF, WC
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CHECK BOX IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED PURSUANT
5 TO ITEM 2(d) or 2(e) [ ]
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CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION
6 Delaware
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NUMBER OF SOLE VOTING POWER
SHARES 7 867,000
BENEFICIALLY ----------------------------------------------------------------
OWNED BY SHARED VOTING POWER
EACH 8 0
REPORTING ----------------------------------------------------------------
PERSON WITH SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
9 867,000
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SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER
10 0
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AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON
11 867,000
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CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES
12 CERTAIN SHARES* [ ]
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PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11)
13 5.81%
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TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON*
14 CO
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*SEE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE FILLING OUT
<PAGE>
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CUSIP No. 13D Page ___ of ___Pages
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NAME OF REPORTING PERSONS
S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NOS. OF ABOVE PERSONS
1 David Einhorn
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CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP* (a)[ ]
2 (b)[ ]
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3 SEC USE ONLY
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SOURCE OF FUNDS*
4 AF, WC
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CHECK BOX IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED PURSUANT
5 TO ITEM 2(d) or 2(e) [ ]
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CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION
6 USA
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NUMBER OF SOLE VOTING POWER
SHARES 7 867,000
BENEFICIALLY ----------------------------------------------------------------
OWNED BY SHARED VOTING POWER
EACH 8 0
REPORTING ----------------------------------------------------------------
PERSON WITH SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
9 867,000
----------------------------------------------------------------
SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER
10 0
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AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON
11 867,000
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CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES
12 CERTAIN SHARES* [ ]
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PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11)
13 5.81%
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TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON*
14 IN
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*SEE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE FILLING OUT
<PAGE>
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CUSIP No. 13D Page ___ of ___Pages
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NAME OF REPORTING PERSONS
S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NOS. OF ABOVE PERSONS
1 Jeffrey A. Keswin
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CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP* (a)[ ]
2 (b)[ ]
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3 SEC USE ONLY
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SOURCE OF FUNDS*
4 AF, WC
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CHECK BOX IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED PURSUANT
5 TO ITEM 2(d) or 2(e) [ ]
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION
6 USA
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NUMBER OF SOLE VOTING POWER
SHARES 7 867,000
BENEFICIALLY ----------------------------------------------------------------
OWNED BY SHARED VOTING POWER
EACH 8 0
REPORTING ----------------------------------------------------------------
PERSON WITH SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
9 867,000
----------------------------------------------------------------
SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER
10 0
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON
11 867,000
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES
12 CERTAIN SHARES* [ ]
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11)
13 5.81%
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TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON*
14 IN
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*SEE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE FILLING OUT
<PAGE>
SCHEDULE 13D
This Schedule 13D (the "Schedule 13D") is being filed on
behalf of Greenlight Capital, L.L.C., a Delaware limited liability company
("Greenlight"), and Mr. David Einhorn and Mr. Jeffrey A. Keswin, the principals
of Greenlight, relating to shares of beneficial interest ("Shares") of Mercer
International Inc. (the "Issuer").
This Schedule 13D relates to shares of Common Stock of the
Issuer purchased by Greenlight for the account of (i) Greenlight Capital, L.P.
("Greenlight Fund"), of which Greenlight is the general partner, (ii) Greenlight
Capital Offshore, Ltd. ("Greenlight Offshore"), of which Greenlight acts as
investment advisor, and (iii) Seedling Fund, L.P. ("Seedling"), of which
Greenlight acts as investment advisor.
ITEM 1. SECURITY AND ISSUER
Securities acquired: Shares of beneficial interest
Issuer: Mercer International Inc.
Burglistrasse 6
Zurich, Switzerland
Tel. No. 41 (1) 201 7710
ITEM 2. IDENTITY AND BACKGROUND
Greenlight Capital, L.L.C, a Delaware limited liability
company, provides investment management services to private individuals and
institutions and is located at 120 Broadway, Suite 901, New York, NY 10271.
Messrs. Einhorn and Keswin are the principals of Greenlight. The principal
occupation of both Mr. Einhorn and Mr. Keswin is investment management and they
are both United States citizens. Their business address is 420 Lexington Avenue,
Suite 875, New York, NY 10170. Neither Greenlight, Mr. Einhorn nor Mr. Keswin
has been convicted in a criminal proceeding during the last five years. Neither
Greenlight, Mr. Einhorn nor Mr. Keswin is and during the past five years was a
party to a civil proceeding of a judicial or administrative body of competent
jurisdiction and, as a result thereof, subject to any judgment, decree or final
order enjoining future violations of, or prohibiting or mandating activities
subject to, federal or state securities laws or finding any violation with
respect to such laws.
ITEM 3. SOURCE AND AMOUNT OF FUNDS
As of December 24, 1997, Greenlight had invested (i)
$5,710,653 in Shares through Greenlight Fund, (ii) $2,964,056 in Shares through
Greenlight Offshore and (iii) $290,634 in Shares through Seedling, all as
described in Item 5 below. The source of these funds was the working capital of
each of Greenlight Fund, Greenlight Offshore and Seedling, as the case may be.
<PAGE>
ITEM 4. PURPOSE OF THE TRANSACTION
Greenlight, Mr. Einhorn and Mr. Keswin acquired Shares for
portfolio investment purposes and do not have any present plans or proposals
that relate to or would result in any change in the business, policies,
management, structure or capitalization of the Issuer, but Greenlight, Mr.
Einhorn and Mr. Keswin reserve the right to consider or make such plans and/or
proposals in the future. Greenlight, Mr. Einhorn and Mr. Keswin reserve the
right to acquire, or dispose of, additional securities of the Issuer, in the
ordinary course of business, to the extent deemed advisable in light of
Greenlight's general investment and trading policies, market conditions or other
factors. Greenlight may contact the Issuer and/or other shareholders regarding
potential strategies to increase shareholder value. Other than as described
above, neither Greenlight, Mr. Einhorn nor Mr. Keswin has present plans or
proposals which would result in any of the following:
1) any extraordinary corporate transaction, such as a
merger, reorganization or liquidation, involving the
Issuer or any of its subsidiaries;
2) any sale or transfer of a material amount of assets of
the Issuer or any of its subsidiaries;
3) any change in the present board of directors or
managers of the Issuer;
4) any material change in the present capitalization or
dividend policy of the Issuer;
5) any other material change in the Issuer's business or
corporate structure;
6) any change in the issuer's charter, by-laws or
instruments corresponding thereto or other actions
which may impede the acquisition of control of the
Issuer by any person;
7) causing a class of securities of the Issuer to be
delisted from a national securities exchange or to
cease to be authorized to be quoted in an interdealer
quotation system of a registered national securities
association;
8) causing a class of securities of the Issuer to become
eligible for termination of registration pursuant to
Section 12(g)(4) of the Act; or
9) any action similar to any of those enumerated above.
<PAGE>
ITEM 5. INTEREST IN SECURITIES OF THE ISSUER
(a) As of December 24, 1997, Greenlight, Mr. Einhorn and Mr.
Keswin are beneficial owners of an aggregate of 867,000 Shares of the Issuer or
5.81% of the shares outstanding. The 867,000 Shares described above are
beneficially owned by Greenlight, Mr. Einhorn and Mr. Keswin for the account of
the Greenlight Fund, Greenlight Offshore or Seedling, as the case may be.
The number of shares beneficially owned by Greenlight, Mr.
Einhorn and Mr. Keswin and the percentage of outstanding shares represented
thereby have been computed in accordance with Rule 13d-3 under the Act. The
percentage of beneficial ownership of Greenlight, Mr. Einhorn and Mr. Keswin on
December 24, 1997 is based on 14,924,222 outstanding Shares as of November 10,
1997 as reported in the Issuer's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the
Commission for the quarterly period ended September 30, 1997.
(b) Greenlight, Mr. Einhorn and Mr. Keswin for the account of
each of Greenlight Fund, Greenlight Offshore and Seedling have the power to vote
and dispose of the shares of Common Stock held by each such entity.
(c) The transactions in the Issuer's securities by Greenlight
during the last sixty days are listed as Annex A attached hereto and made apart
hereof.
(d) Not Applicable.
(e) Not Applicable.
ITEM 6. CONTRACTS, ARRANGEMENT, UNDERSTANDINGS OR RELATIONSHIPS
WITH RESPECT TO SECURITIES OF THE ISSUER
Not Applicable.
ITEM 7. MATERIAL TO BE FILED AS EXHIBITS
Not Applicable.
<PAGE>
ANNEX A
Quantity Price per Share
Transaction Date Buy/Sell (shares) ($)
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10/31/97 Buy 5,000 $10.131
11/11/97 Buy 7,000 10.465
11/12/97 Buy 5,000 10.366
12/15/97 Buy 5,000 8.441
12/16/97 Buy 28,000 8.752
12/17/97 Buy 15,500 8.880
12/18/97 Buy 80,000 8.375
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SIGNATURE
After reasonable inquiry and to the best of my knowledge and belief,
the undersigned certifies that the information set forth in this statement is
true, complete and correct.
Dated: December 18, 1997
Greenlight Capital, L.L.C.
By: /s/ JEFFREY A. KESWIN
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JEFFREY A. KESWIN,
Managing Member
/s/ DAVID EINHORN
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David Einhorn
/s/ JEFFREY A. KESWIN
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Jeffrey A. Keswin
