MONTREAL, Sept. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AbitibiBowater announced today that the Company has received approval for a process to call for creditor claims (the "Claims Process") by the Quebec Superior Court in Canada and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
The Claims Process granted outlines the procedures by which creditors can make claims against the Company, in respect of claims as at April 16, 2009, for Chapter 11 filers and April 17, 2009, for the entities that filed for protection under the Companies'' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), and contracts repudiated between April 17, 2009, and August 31, 2009 (the "Creditors"). These proposed procedures have been outlined in the Fourteenth Report of the Monitor, a link to which can be found on abitibibowater.com.
"Launching the Claims Process at this juncture demonstrates continued progress in AbitibiBowater''s restructuring efforts," stated David J. Paterson, President and Chief Executive Officer. "This key step in our creditor protection filings will allow the Company to better assess the scope and nature of creditor claims and assist AbitibiBowater in formulating a restructuring plan."
Under the Claims Process, creditor claims must be received by 4:00 p.m. (Eastern) on November 13, 2009. Creditor claims not received by this bar date will be extinguished, and the Creditors asserting such claims will not be entitled to participate in any forthcoming restructuring plan.
The Monitor, Ernst Young Inc., and the Company''s Claims Agent, Epiq Bankruptcy Solutions, LLC, will be mailing proof of claim packages and instruction letters to all known creditors. In addition, a copy of the court orders, the proof of claim package and an instruction letter will be available through a link on abitibibowater.com. Creditors, or any other interested parties, who do not receive a proof of claim package can obtain the information through the Company website. In order to promote awareness of the Claims Process, a Notice to Creditors will be published weekly over the coming weeks in a number of English and French newspapers.
Certain creditors are not required to file claims in the Claims Process including, among other creditors, active employees or employees that were active at the date of AbitibiBowater''s creditor protection filing on April 16, 2009. This group of employees has been excluded from the Claims Process at this time given the Company''s restructuring initiatives continue to unfold. Employees and other creditors not presently included in the Claims Process will be advised when the Company seeks to approve a date for the filing of any claims by these individuals, if necessary, at a future date.
More information about AbitibiBowater''s restructuring process can be found at http://www.abitibibowater.com/ or by calling toll-free 888 266-9280. International callers should dial 503 597-7698.
AbitibiBowater produces a wide range of newsprint, commercial printing papers, market pulp and wood products. It is the eighth largest publicly traded pulp and paper manufacturer in the world. AbitibiBowater owns or operates 23 pulp and paper facilities and 29 wood products facilities located in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and South Korea. Marketing its products in more than 90 countries, the Company is also among the world''s largest recyclers of old newspapers and magazines, and has third-party certified 100% of its managed woodlands to sustainable forest management standards. AbitibiBowater''s shares trade over-the-counter on the Pink Sheets and on the OTC Bulletin Board under the stock symbol ABWTQ.
ABITIBIBOWATER INC. - ENGLISH
CONTACT: Investors: Duane Owens, Vice President, Finance, (864)
282-9488; Media and Others: Seth Kursman, Vice President, Public Affairs,
Sustainability Environment, (514) 394-2398, seth.kursman@abitibibowater.com
