The Paper Excellence Group, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Domtar Corporation, a global diversified manufacturer of pulp and specialty, printing, writing, and packaging papers, and Resolute Forest Products Inc., a global forest products company, have entered into an agreement under which Domtar will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Resolute stock.
Resolute will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Domtar, under the auspices of Paper Excellence, and continue to operate on a business-as-usual basis under the Resolute name. The Resolute management team will remain in place at the company’s headquarters. Considering the quality workforce available with Resolute and Domtar, Montreal will become an important hub for Paper Excellence Group’s North American businesses. Furthermore, the Paper Excellence plans to retain Resolute’s production locations and levels of jobs.
As part of its commitment to building a premier North American diversified forest products company and creating long-term growth, Paper Excellence intends to support Resolute management’s existing growth strategy, focused on strategic investments in its lumber and pulp businesses, and maximizing the value of its paper and tissue businesses. It also plans to undertake a detailed feasibility study for the eventual conversion of Resolute’s Gatineau, Quebec, newsprint mill to the production of packaging paper.
Furthermore, Paper Excellence intends to form long-term partnerships with one or more universities in Quebec and Ontario to spearhead innovation in the field of fiber-based biomaterials.
The transaction is expected to close as soon as possible following stockholder and regulatory approvals, and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions, which is currently expected in the first half of 2023.
Resolute is a global leader in the forest products industry with a diverse range of products, including market pulp, tissue, wood products and papers. The company owns or operates some 40 facilities, as well as power generation assets, in the United States and Canada.
The Paper Excellence Group is a privately-held holding company that oversees individual pulp and paper business units. Its operations include the manufacturing of pulp and specialty, printing and writing, and packaging papers, producing over 7 million tons annually with a workforce of over 10,000 in its nearly 40 locations across the Americas and Europe.
