Paper Excellence, Resolute Forest Products put pulp and paper mill up for sale

The Paper Excellence Group and Resolute Forest Products have announced their intention to sell Resolute’s Thunder Bay pulp and paper mill to help accelerate Paper Excellence’s acquisition of Resolute, through its subsidiary, Domtar.

Any sale of the facility will be contingent upon the completion of Domtar’s acquisition of Resolute and to applicable regulatory approvals. Domtar, headquartered in Fort Mill, South Carolina, is still expected to close in the first half of next year.

“Today’s announcement is a clear demonstration of our commitment to timely complete the acquisition of Resolute,” says Patrick Loulou, vice chair and chief strategy officer of British Columbia-based Paper Excellence Group.

According to several reports, there is no word yet on any potential buyers.

“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,” Resolute President and CEO Remi G. Lalonde says. “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.”

The Thunder Bay pulp and paper mill has 462 employees and produces 554,000 metric tons of market pulp and newsprint annually.

In July, Paper Excellence, through Domtar, announced the $2.7 billion acquisition of Resolute which it said further expands its reach by building out its forest products portfolio in North America and outlines a commitment to building a premier North American diversified forest products company and creating long-term growth.