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GreenFirst’s acquisition of Rayonier Forest and Paper Product assets now complete

On August 28, 2021, GreenFirst Forest Products Inc. completed the purchase of a portfolio of forest and paper product assets from Rayonier A.M. Canada G.P., Rayonier A.M. Canada Industries Inc. and Rayonier A.M. Canada Enterprises Inc., all subsidiaries of Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc.

GreenFirst purchased the assets for an aggregate purchase price of approximately US$235 million. GreenFirts is now positioned as a significant player in the Canadian forest products industry after this acquisition. The assets purchased include a newsprint mill located in Kapuskasing, Ontario, as well as six limber mills located in Chapleau, Cochrane, Hearst and Kapuskasing in Ontario and in Béarn and La Sarre in Quebec. The newsprint mill has an annual production capacity of 205,000 metric tonnes per year.

To increase operational efficiencies in the mills, GreenFirst plans on optimizing operations and making capital investments in the future. With the purchase, the company now has the rights to approximately 3.29 million m³ of guaranteed fibre supply in Ontario and Quebec.

“We are excited to announce the closing of this transaction and to begin working to invest in and optimize the lumber mills,” said Rick Doman, CEO of GreenFirst. “We also intend to make improvements to the mills’ management structure, sales processes and supply chains which we expect will generate meaningful operational improvements.”

Paul Rivett, chairman of GreenFirst, commented that “The closing of this transaction is a significant milestone for GreenFirst representing the culmination of a year of hard work and tremendous effort by all those involved. We would also like to thank our financial partners, Senvest and Blue Torch, and our external advisors, KPMG, Norton Rose Fulbright, NordStar Capital and RBC, for supporting us in this transformative acquisition.”

GreenFirst makes environmental stewardship a priority through sustainable forest management practices, while promoting energy efficiency and carbon reduction through the production of lumber. GreenFirst is also committed to sustainable forest management and to maximizing biodiversity and forest health as part of its operations.

Doman added, “GreenFirst is focused on being a responsible steward of forests and on playing a positive role in the communities that we operate in, through our commitments to sustainability.”