Interfor Receives Court Approval to Acquire Pope & Talbot Sawmills


Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 07 January 2008 -- International Forest Products Limited (Interfor) (TSX: IFP.A) announced today it has received Bankruptcy Court approval in Canada and the United States to proceed with the acquisition of three Pope & Talbot (P&T) sawmills and related timber tenures for USD 69 million plus working capital.

The transaction has also been approved by the Canadian Competition Bureau and U.S. antitrust authorities. Completion of the transaction remains conditional upon certain other regulatory approvals, which are expected to be in hand by the end of March 2008.

Interfor also announced that it had reached agreement to sell the Spearfish, South Dakota, USA, sawmill, being acquired as part of the P&T transaction, to Neiman Enterprises, Inc., a family-owned company based in Hulett, Wyoming. The sale of the Spearfish sawmill will close concurrently with the P&T transaction. Interfor will receive approximately USD 14 million plus working capital from the Spearfish sale.

Interfor is one of the Pacific Northwest’s largest producers of quality wood products. The company has operations in British Columbia (Canada) and Washington and Oregon (USA), including three sawmills in the Coastal region of British Columbia, one in the British Columbia Interior, one in Washington, and two in Oregon. In addition, Interfor operates value-added remanufacturing and specialty products facilities in British Columbia and Washington. The company's Web site is www.interfor.com.