MONTREAL, Sept. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AbitibiBowater is pleased to announce that the Quebec Superior Court today rendered an order sanctioning the Company's plan of reorganization under the Canadian Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). As previously announced, on September 14 and 21, 2010, respectively, the Company received approvals for its plans of reorganization from affected creditors under the CCAA in Canada and chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the United States, except with respect to Bowater Canada Finance Corporation (BCFC), a special purpose company subsidiary with no operating assets, which has been excluded from the Company's plans of reorganization.
"We are pleased to have received an order from the Quebec Superior Court sanctioning our CCAA plan," stated David J. Paterson, President and Chief Executive Officer. "The rendering of this court order represents a major milestone in the successful restructuring of our Company."
The confirmation hearing under the Chapter 11 process is scheduled to start on September 24, 2010, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. Subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions provided for in the plans of reorganization, AbitibiBowater continues to expect emergence from creditor protection this fall.
The sanction order rendered by the Quebec Superior Court on the CCAA reorganization plan will be available through http://www.abitibibowater.com/restructuring.
AbitibiBowater produces a wide range of newsprint, commercial printing and packaging papers, market pulp and wood products. It is the eighth largest publicly traded pulp and paper manufacturer in the world. AbitibiBowater owns or operates 19 pulp and paper facilities and 24 wood products facilities located in the United States, Canada and South Korea. Marketing its products in more than 70 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
