AbitibiBowater Creditors Approve CCAA Plan of Reorganization

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AbitibiBowater, Montreal, Que., Canada, this week received approval for its plan of reorganization from unsecured creditors under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) in Canada. The plan of reorganization received overwhelming support from its unsecured creditors both in dollar amount of claims and in number of claim holders who voted on the plan, the company notes.

Having obtained the requisite votes in each class, except with respect to Bowater Canada Finance Corp. (BCFC), a special purpose company subsidiary with no operating assets, AbitibiBowater will seek a sanction order in respect of its CCAA plan other than in respect of BCFC, which is excluded from the CCAA plan. The company says it does not believe that the exclusion of BCFC will affect the timing of its sanction hearing by the Canadian Court, nor does it expect it will materially delay its emergence from creditor protection slated for this fall.

Voting tabulations on the plan of reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code are expected on September 20. The company will provide further information when the results become available.

"We appreciate the support given by the significant majority of our creditors under the CCAA process for our plan of reorganization," stated David J. Paterson, president and CEO. "We are confident our restructuring efforts have created a stronger foundation for a more sustainable and competitive company. We look forward to completing the restructuring process and emerging from creditor protection this fall."
The sanction hearing under the CCAA process is scheduled to occur on September 20, in the Quebec Superior Court and the confirmation hearing under the Chapter 11 process is scheduled to start on September 24, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.