Date: Thu, 22 Nov 2007 08:22:17 -0800
From: Scott Frederick <scott451@gmx.net>
Subject: [KCUTS] G&M: Interfor pays $69-million for Pope & Talbot mills
Hello Kootenaycuts,
Interfor pays $69-million for Pope & Talbot mills
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20071120.RPOPE20/TPStory/Business
WENDY STUECK
GLOBE AND MAIL
November 20, 2007
VANCOUVER -- International Forest Products Ltd. has agreed to pay $69-million (U.S.)
to buy three sawmills from Pope & Talbot Inc., the financially strapped Oregon
company that filed for protection from its creditors last month.
Vancouver-based Interfor has also agreed to buy an additional $20-million worth of
assets from Pope & Talbot if certain inventory conditions are met, Interfor said in a
statement yesterday.
The agreement is subject to court approvals in Canada and the U.S.
Pope & Talbot yesterday filed under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.
Last month, the company filed for protection from its creditors under Canada's
Companies Creditors' Arrangement Act.
The restructuring of the nearly 160-year-old U.S. forest company was expected to
result in the company's assets being sold off.Interfor has agreed to buy mills in
Castlegar and Grand Forks in B.C. and the Spearfish mill in South Dakota, along with
related timber tenures.
A court hearing is scheduled for tomorrow in the Supreme Court of British Columbia,
following a request from the province of B.C. and others to have proceedings
regarding Pope & Talbot - which were originally filed in Ontario - moved to B.C.
The province made the request to ensure that communities, creditors, employees,
First Nations and other stakeholders would have "fair, convenient and timely access"
to the process, the province said yesterday in a statement.
Although Pope & Talbot is headquartered in Oregon, it filed for protection from its
creditors in Ontario on Oct. 29 because its main operating subsidiary is Canadian.
"It will be a court-structured and supervised reorganization," said Michael
Vermette, a senior vice-president with court-appointed monitor PricewaterhouseCoopers
Inc.
"There will clearly be some assets that will be sold, that is the plan - the methods
and mechanics around that will be presented to the court and approved by the court
over the next few weeks."
Despite dire conditions in the forest sector, prospective buyers have been circling.
Interfor has been positioning itself to shop for assets during the sector's
downturn. The company said the acquisition, if completed, would roughly double the
Canadian company's lumber capacity and expand its presence in the U.S., something
that Canadian producers have been trying to do as the loonie has strengthened against
the U.S. greenback.
Pope & Talbot, which was founded in 1849, also has several operations in B.C.
including sawmills in Grand Forks and Castlegar, and the Harmac pulp mill in Nanaimo.
Last month, Pope & Talbot said high debt costs and weak markets had combined to
create an "untenable business environment." Its debts total more than $300-million.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20071120.RPOPE20/TPStory/Business
--
Only 542 organising days until the next BC provincial election.
Best regards,
Scott mailto:scott451@gmx.net
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