The sale of Resolute Forest Products – formerly Abitibi-Price – is just the latest example in a long line of major Quebec forestry companies recently taken over by out-of-province interests.
Earlier this past February, Eacom Timber Corporation sold its nine mills and sawmills in Quebec and Ontario to Interfor Corporation of British Columbia. The company, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, will have paid $490 million to acquire Eacom’s properties, including the former Domtar sawmills in Val-d’Or and Matagami, purchased in 2010.
Domtar last year
Domtar, another century-old paper company in Quebec – its foundation dates back to 1848 – was sold last year for US$3 billion to Paper Excellence, the same company that has just taken over Resolute. This company, let us remember, is the property of a wealthy Indonesian (Jackson Widjaja).
Finally, in the same year (2021), Green First, also from British Columbia, bought a string of seven sawmills and newsprint mills in Quebec and Ontario from the hands of the American Rayonier Advanced Material, for 267 M$.
These facilities had been acquired by Rayonier, just four years earlier (2017), as part of a transaction to acquire the bulk of Tembec’s assets. This forestry company was founded in 1973 in Temiscaming, Quebec.
EACOM TIMBER CORPORATION
- Employees: 600
- Sold in 2022
- Price: $490 million
- Acquirer: Interfor Corporation
- Headquarters: Vancouver, British Columbia
DOMTAR
- Employees: 6400, including 1235 in Quebec
- Sold in 2021
- Price: US$3 billion
- Buyer: Paper Excellence
- Headquarters: Richmond, British Columbia
TEMBEC
- Employees: 3,000, including 1,500 in Quebec
- Sold in 2017
- Price: US$807 million
- Buyer: Rayonier Advanced Materials
- Headquarters: Jacksonville, Florida, USA
what they said
“We have to have a guarantee from the government that the company will respect these commitments, that is to say investments of $100 million for the next 10 years, that also means produce, in 2023, a modernization plan. We fought for that. »
– Sylvain Gaudreault, MP for Jonquière, PQ
“We take note of the transaction and of the buyer’s intention to make investments in Gatineau. However, we are still in the dark regarding the future of the Amos and Baie-
Comeau, still closed. We will wait to learn more about their intentions before thinking anything about this transaction. »
– Daniel Cloutier, Quebec director of Unifor
“I don’t know of anyone who would buy a business at such a price with the intention of reselling it later as parts. […] After 200 years, another page of history is turning […] and a new era of transformation is dawning. »
– Jean-François Samray, CEO of the Quebec Forest Industry Council
“We are encouraged that Paper Excellence comes from the forest industry and seems to have a long-term view. On the other hand, it raises concerns among workers. This is normal, because we don’t really know them yet; we do not know their intentions. Only time will allow us to judge. »
– Kevin Gagnon, VP of the CSN Manufacturing Industry Federation