The Paper Excellence Group is acquiring Resolute Forest Products in a transaction valued at US$2.7 billion.
Resolute will become a subsidiary of Domtar and it will be “business as usual” with the current Resolute management team remaining in place in Montreal.
A Resolute shareholders vote will be held in early fall. Pending shareholder and other regulatory approvals, the transaction will close sometime during the first half of 2023.
The holder of each share of Resolute common stock will receive $20.50 per share with something called a contingent value right entitling the holder to a share of refunds on future softwood lumber duty deposits.
It’s the second major acquisition by the Richmond, B.C.-based pulp and paper producer in a little more than a year when Paper Excellence acquired Domtar in May 2021. That acquisition was finalized last November and involved operations in Dryden and Espanola.
“Resolute is an ideal fit for our long-term growth strategy,” said Patrick Loulou, Paper Excellence’s vice chair and chief strategy officer.
“It complements our existing pulp, paper and packaging businesses and adds capabilities in lumber and tissue. We have seen firsthand that Resolute prides itself on its great people, strong assets and a culture of excellence going back more than two hundred years."
Resolute has lumber, pulp and wood pellet operations in Thunder Bay, Ignace and Atikokan.
Formerly known as AbitibiBowater, Resolute was formed in 2006 through the merger of Bowater and Abitibi-Consolidated.
