Buchanan's idled Terrace Bay Pulp mill in Ontario put up for sale, now under CCAA bankruptcy protection; hope is that NBSK mill will be restarted, successful under new ownership, says natural resources minister

Sandy Yang

LOS ANGELES , January 30, 2012 (Industry Intelligence) –

Terrace Bay Pulp Inc. in Terrace Bay, Ontario, has been put up for sale and is now under bankruptcy protection in Canada, according to information received by the mill’s labor unions on Jan. 26, CBC News reported later the same day.

It was not a surprise given that the company is already for sale, said Herb Daniher, a spokesperson for the United Steelworkers union, which represents over 300 workers at the mill.

Last week, it was revealed that Thunder Bay, Ontario-based Buchanan Group had decided to sell its Terrace Bay Pulp mill, which has been idled since late last November.

The sale process has just begun, according to a spokesperson, CBC News reported.

The hope is to sell the northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) market pulp mill to a new owner that can restart and continue to operate it successfully, aid Michael Gravelle, the minister of natural resources, in a statement on Jan. 26.

The most likely buyer for the mill would be a Chinese company, a forest industry analyst told CBC News.

Ernst & Young Inc. was appointed as monitor for the mill under the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).

The CCAA protection and sale of the mill was viewed as a “positive thing” because it could result in a buyer with “deep enough pockets that can weather the cyclical nature of the industry,” said Daniher, reported CBC News.

The primary source of this article is CBC News, Toronto, Ontario, on Jan. 26, 2012.
 

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