25.5 million January 28, 2013 20:21 ET
Western Forest Products Inc.: Continued Progress on Non-Core Asset Sales
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Jan. 28, 2013) - Western Forest Products Inc. (TSX:WEF) ("Western" or the "Company") today announced that it has entered into a conditional agreement for the sale of its former Woodfibre Pulp Mill site for the purchase price of $25.5 million. The site, consisting of 212 acres of industrial waterfront land, is located at the head of Howe Sound, southwest of Squamish, British Columbia. Closing of the sale is subject to certain conditions, and Western will be responsible for satisfactorily remediating the property to applicable environmental standards prior to closing the sale. The net proceeds from the sale are expected to be approximately $17 million.
"Our non-core asset divestiture program will continue to further strengthen our balance sheet and provides additional financial flexibility to pursue our strategic capital plan," said Dominic Gammiero, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Western Forest Products
Western is an integrated Canadian forest products company and the largest coastal British Columbia woodland operator and lumber producer with an annual available harvest of approximately 6.4 million cubic metres of timber of which approximately 6.2 million cubic metres is from Crown lands and lumber capacity in excess of 1.1 billion board feet from eight sawmills and three remanufacturing plants. Principal activities conducted by the Company include timber harvesting, reforestation, sawmilling logs into lumber and by-products and value-added remanufacturing. Substantially all of Western's operations, employees and corporate facilities are located in the coastal region of British Columbia while its products are sold in over 25 countries worldwide.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements which constitute forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Those statements and information appear in a number of places in this document and include statements and information regarding our current intent, belief or expectations primarily with respect to market and general economic conditions, future costs, expenditures, available harvest levels and our future operating performance, objectives and strategies. Such statements and information may be indicated by words such as "estimate", "expect", "anticipate", "plan", "intend", "believe", "should", "may" and similar words and phrases. Readers are cautioned that it would be unreasonable to rely on any such forward-looking statements and information as creating any legal rights, and that the statements and information are not guarantees and may involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, and that actual results and objectives and strategies may differ or change from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements or information as a result of various factors. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others: general economic conditions, competition and selling prices, changes in foreign currency exchange rates, labour disruptions, natural disasters, relations with First Nations groups, changes in laws, regulations or public policy, misjudgments in the course of preparing forward-looking statements or information, changes in opportunities and other factors referenced under the "Risks and Uncertainties" section of our MD&A in our 2011 Annual Report dated February 22, 2012. All written and oral forward-looking statements or information attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary