Quebec court OKs Abitibi, Bowater merger; deal on track to close in third quarter

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., Aug. 7 - The Superior Court of Quebec approved the planned merger of Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. and Bowater Inc., according to a company news release.

Both companies' shareholders have already approved the deal. The merger is still subject to review by the U.S. Department of Justice, with the transaction expected to close by the end of the third quarter.

As previously reported, under the Jan. 29, 2007 merger agreement, each common share of Abitibi-Consolidated will be exchanged for 0.06261 of a common share of the combined company, AbitibiBowater Inc. Each Bowater common share will be exchanged for 0.52 of a common share of AbitibiBowater.

Once the merger is complete, AbitibiBowater will trade on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "ABH." AbitibiBowater will own or operate 32 pulp and paper facilities and 35 wood products facilities located in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and South Korea.

As part of the merger approval under the Investment Canada Act, AbitibiBowater agreed to keep its headquarters in Montreal for three years and to keep at least five Canadians on its board of directors.

Based in Montreal, Abitibi-Consolidated provides newsprint, commercial printing papers and wood products. Bowater produces coated and specialty papers and newsprint in Greenville, S.C.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.