The Paper Excellence Group and Resolute Forest Products Inc. ("Resolute") (NYSE: RFP) (TSX: RFP) today announced their intention to sell Resolute's Thunder Bay pulp and paper mill to further facilitate the regulatory review process.
On July 6, the Paper Excellence Group through its wholly-owned subsidiary Domtar Corporation ("Domtar"), a global diversified manufacturer of pulp and specialty, printing, writing, and packaging papers, entered into an agreement with Resolute, a global forest products company, to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Resolute stock.
"Today's announcement is a clear demonstration of our commitment to timely complete the acquisition of Resolute," said Patrick Loulou, vice chair and chief strategy officer of the Paper Excellence Group.
"This is a very hard thing to do, but we believe it is necessary in order to accelerate our strategic combination with the Paper Excellence Group," stated Remi G. Lalonde, Resolute's president and chief executive officer. "The mill is an exceptional asset. I am confident that the dedicated and talented team in Thunder Bay will have a prosperous future with any company fortunate enough to have them as part of their organization."
Any sale of the Thunder Bay pulp and paper mill will be contingent upon closing of the announced acquisition of Resolute by Domtar, and to applicable regulatory approvals. The acquisition of Resolute by Domtar continues to be expected in the first half of 2023, following stockholder and regulatory approvals, and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions, the receipt of which remain outstanding.
There can be no assurance that the required regulatory approvals will result from this process. Resolute and Domtar each reaffirm their general policy not to comment upon or respond to market rumor or speculation regarding the regulatory process or the transaction. Resolute and Domtar will not comment further on this matter unless and until definitive resolutions of the regulatory process are achieved.
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