Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 26 July 2007 --/CNW Telbec/-- Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. (NYSE: ABY,TSX: A) and Bowater Incorporated (NYSE: BOW) announced today that Abitibi-Consolidated and AbitibiBowater have undertaken to postpone the earliest call for redemption of exchangeable shares.

Subject to the closing of the combination of Abitibi-Consolidated and Bowater, the earliest date on which all outstanding nonvoting exchangeable shares may be called for redemption by the board of directors of Bowater Canada Inc. (TSX: BWX), an exchangeable share public subsidiary of Bowater, subject to certain exceptions, would be postponed to 30 June 2026, from the June 30, 2018 date contemplated in the form of articles of amendment of Bowater Canada approved at a meeting of its shareholders held 25 July 2007.

The combined company, which will be called AbitibiBowater Inc. will produce a wide-range of newsprint and commercial printing papers, market pulp, and lumber products. It will be the eighth largest pulp and paper manufacturer in the world. AbitibiBowater will own or operate 32 pulp and paper facilities and 35 wood product facilities located in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and South Korea. It will also be among the world's largest recyclers of newspapers and magazines, and a global leader in sustainable forest management through independent third-party certification.

About Abitibi-Consolidated Inc.

Abitibi-Consolidated is a global leader in newsprint and commercial printing papers as well as a major producer of wood products, serving clients in some 70 countries from its 45 operating facilities. Abitibi-Consolidated is among the largest recyclers of newspapers and magazines in North America, diverting annually approximately 1.7 million metric tons of waste paper from landfills.

About Bowater Incorporated

Bowater Incorporated, headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, USA, is a leading producer of coated and specialty papers and newsprint. In addition, the company sells bleached market pulp and lumber products. Bowater employs approximately 6900 people and has 12 pulp and paper mills in the United States, Canada, and South Korea. In North America, it also operates a converting facility and owns 10 sawmills. Bowater's operations are supported by approximately 708,000 acres of timberlands owned or leased in the United States and Canada and 28 million acres of timber cutting rights in Canada.

Bowater operates six recycling plants and is one of the world's largest consumers of recycled newspapers and magazines. Bowater common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. A special class of stock exchangeable into Bowater common stock is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BWX). To learn more, visit www.bowater.com.