|
Rayonier Advanced Materials sells its lumber and newsprint assets to GreenFirst Forest Products
FLORIDA (News release) -- Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. (RYAM) and GreenFirst Forest Products Inc., a Canadian lumber company, have entered into a binding asset purchase agreement pursuant to which RYAM has agreed to sell all of its lumber and newsprint facilities and related assets located in Ontario and Québec. to GreenFirst for an expected purchase price of approximately $214 million including inventory on hand at the time of closing which is payable approximately 85% in cash, 15% common shares of the capital of GreenFirst.
In addition, a chip offset credit note will be issued to RYAM by GreenFirst in the amount of CDN$7.9 million, which may be set off against amounts owing to GreenFirst for chip purchases, equally over the next 5 years. Notably, RYAM will retain all of the cash generated by the Purchased Assets plus all softwood lumber duties, including earned interest on the duties, paid to the U.S. Department of Commerce through the closing date. RYAM estimates the duties to be approximately $110 million at the time of closing. The purchased assets include six lumber mills which are located in Chapleau, Cochrane, Hearst and Kapuskasing in Ontario and in Béarn and La Sarre in Québec as well as one newsprint mill located in Kapuskasing, Ontario. The purchased assets have an annual production capacity of 755 MMFbm and are capable of producing a wide range of forest products used in residential and commercial construction, including SPF lumber, wood chips and by-products. The newsprint mill has an annual production capacity of 205,000 MT/year. RYAM and GreenFirst have also agreed to a 20-year residual fiber supply agreement to meet the continued fiber sourcing needs of RYAM's High Purity Cellulose, High Yield and Paperboard operations in Temiscaming, Québec. The closing of the agreement, which is expected to occur in the second half of 2021, but not prior to July 31, is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals, the transfer of forestry licenses and the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Rayonier Advanced Materials is a global leader of cellulose-based technologies, including high purity cellulose specialties. The company also manufactures products for lumber, paper and packaging markets.
|