Interfor to Exit Québec Operations
October 16 2024 - 6:55AM
INTERFOR CORPORATION (“Interfor” or the “Company”)
(TSX: IFP) announced today plans to exit its operations in Québec,
Canada, including the sale of its three manufacturing facilities
and the closure of its Montréal corporate office. This strategic
initiative will support a focus on the areas of highest future
potential across the remainder of the Company.
As part of the exit plan, Interfor announced that it has entered
into a definitive agreement to sell its sawmills in Val-d’Or and
Matagami as well as its Sullivan remanufacturing plant in Val-d’Or,
along with all associated forestry and business operations, to
Chantiers Chibougamau Ltée (“CCL”), a long-standing,
privately-held, Québec-based forestry company.
The purchase price is estimated to be approximately $30 million
in cash, based on the value of specific working capital items at
June 30, 2024, which will be subject to normal course adjustments
at closing, plus the assumption of certain liabilities by CCL.
Additionally, Interfor and CCL will enter into a multi-year
contract for the supply of Machine Stress Rated (“MSR”) lumber to
Interfor’s I-Joist engineered wood products (“EWP”) facility in
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
The sale does not include any countervailing (“CV”) or
anti-dumping (“AD”) duty deposits related to the ongoing US/Canada
softwood lumber trade dispute. All historical CV & AD deposits
up to the date of closing will be retained by Interfor. Total CV
& AD deposits related to the facilities up to June 30, 2024
totalled approximately US$56 million, excluding any interest.
As part of the exit plan, Interfor also announced that it
intends to permanently close its corporate office in Montréal in
the coming months, allowing for the full realization of synergies
associated with the Company’s EACOM Timber Corporation acquisition
announced in November 2021.
Interfor will continue to own and operate its five sawmills and
one I-Joist EWP facility in Ontario and its two sawmills and
woodlands management business in New Brunswick.
“After careful review of the potential future options for our
Québec operations, we believe the sale to CCL is the best long-term
outcome for Interfor,” said Ian Fillinger, President & Chief
Executive Officer. “The decision to exit our Québec operations was
influenced by recent developments that have restricted the
availability of economic fibre, including record forest fires in
2023. This divestiture enables us to focus resources on our
remaining Eastern Canadian sawmills situated in Ontario and New
Brunswick, which are well-positioned with competitive log costs and
an increasingly valuable spruce-pine-fir lumber product mix.”
The Val-d’Or and Matagami sawmills have a combined two-shift
rated lumber production capacity of 255 million board feet per
year, representing approximately 5% of Interfor’s total
company-wide capacity. However, the mills only produced 206 million
board feet of lumber in the trailing twelve months ended June 30,
2024, representing a utilization rate of approximately 80%. Since
early August 2024, the mills have been operating at a utilization
rate of approximately 50%.
The completion of the transaction is subject to customary
conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to
close in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Interfor anticipates taking an impairment charge in the third
quarter of 2024 associated with the announcement.
RBC Capital Markets acted as exclusive financial advisor to
Interfor.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This release contains forward-looking information about the
Company’s business outlook, objectives, plans, strategic priorities
and other information that is not historical fact. A statement
contains forward-looking information when the Company uses what it
knows and expects today, to make a statement about the future.
Statements containing forward-looking information in this release,
include but are not limited to, statements regarding production
capacity, future plans, regulatory approvals and the expected
closing date, and other relevant factors. Readers are cautioned
that actual results may vary from the forward-looking information
in this release, and undue reliance should not be placed on such
forward-looking information. Risk factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from the forward-looking information
in this release are described in Interfor’s annual Management’s
Discussion & Analysis under the heading “Risks and
Uncertainties,” which is available on www.interfor.com and under
Interfor’s profile on www.sedar.com. Material factors and
assumptions used to develop the forward-looking information in this
report include the fulfilment of the conditions to completing the
transaction described in this release. Unless otherwise indicated,
the forward-looking statements in this release are based on the
Company’s expectations at the date of this release. Interfor
undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking information
or statements, except as required by law.
ABOUT INTERFOR
Interfor is a growth-oriented forest products company with
operations in Canada and the United States. The Company has annual
lumber production capacity of approximately 5.0 billion board feet
and offers a diverse line of lumber products to customers around
the world. For more information about Interfor, visit our website
at www.interfor.com.
Investor Contacts:
Rick Pozzebon, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial
Officer(604) 689-6804
Mike Mackay, Vice President, Corporate Development &
Treasury (604) 689-6846
Media Contact:
Svetlana Kayumova, Senior Manager, Corporate Affairs &
Communications(604) 422-7329svetlana.kayumova@interfor.com
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