Interfor Corp. IFP-T has signed a take care of an affiliate of the Kilmer Group to purchase Chaleur Forest Products in Recent Brunswick for C$325-million.
Chaleur owns sawmill operations in Belledune and Bathurst, N.B., with a combined annual lumber production capability of 350 million board feet.
The corporate also operates a woodlands management division based out of Miramichi, N.B., that manages about 30 per cent of the entire Crown forest within the province.
Along with the acquisition price, which incorporates C$31-million of net working capital, Interfor will assume Chaleur’s countervailing and anti-dumping duty deposits at closing, for consideration equal to 55 per cent of the entire deposits on an after-tax basis. Chaleur had paid US$82-million in countervailing and anti-dumping duty deposits as of Aug. 31.
Interfor chief executive Ian Fillinger says the acquisition is consistent with Interfor’s growth-focused strategy as a pure-play lumber producer and builds upon its recent expansion into Eastern Canada.
The acquisition is subject to Canadian and U.S. regulatory reviews and customary conditions. It is anticipated to shut within the fourth quarter.
