Mercer International Re-evaluating Green Energy Project
New York, New York, USA, 21 July 2009 -- Mercer International Inc. (Nasdaq: MERC, TSX: MRI.U) today announced it is reviewing implementing changes and reworking the Green Energy Project (the "GEP") for its Celgar mill in light of the recently announced Canadian federal government's CAD 1 billion green transformation program and the volatility in the capital and credit markets, which has resulted in project financing being currently unavailable on acceptable terms. Mercer is reviewing various changes and reworking the GEP to enhance energy production, efficiency, and the environmental performance of the Celgar mill based upon realizing on the opportunities under the new program and other matters. Jimmy Lee, chief executive officer of Mercer, commented that "In light of the new government program, we felt it was prudent to review and rework the GEP to determine the best way to optimize the same. The changes will be designed to produce the best project for the mill, further increase green energy production and environmental performance and take advantage of such funding as may be available under the new federal program. Additionally, due to the volatility in capital and credit markets, the availability of stand-alone project financing currently for the prior scope of the project was prohibitive." He concluded, "While reworking a significant capital program like the GEP will result in a delay in the short term, we believe that, in the long run, it will be in the best interests of all of our stakeholders." Mercer International Inc. is a global pulp manufacturing company. To obtain further information on the company, visit http://www.mercerint.com. Mercer also announced it received commitments to renew the revolving credit facility for its Rosenthal mill, which matures in February 2010, with a revolving facility of EUR 25.0 million maturing in December 2012 and a four-year amortizing term facility of EUR 4.4 million.
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