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ABWTQ (OTC)MONTREAL, Sept. 4 /CNW Telbec/ - AbitibiBowater announced today that the
Company has received approval for a process to call for creditor claims (the
"Claims Process") by the Quebec Superior Court in Canada and the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
The Claims Process granted outlines the procedures by which creditors can
make claims against the Company, in respect of claims as at April 16, 2009,
for Chapter 11 filers and April 17, 2009, for the entities that filed for
protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), and
contracts repudiated between April 17, 2009, and August 31, 2009 (the
"Creditors"). These proposed procedures have been outlined in the Fourteenth
Report of the Monitor, a link to which can be found on abitibibowater.com.
"Launching the Claims Process at this juncture demonstrates continued
progress in AbitibiBowater's restructuring efforts," stated David J. Paterson,
President and Chief Executive Officer. "This key step in our creditor
protection filings will allow the Company to better assess the scope and
nature of creditor claims and assist AbitibiBowater in formulating a
restructuring plan."
Under the Claims Process, creditor claims must be received by 4:00 p.m.
(Eastern) on November 13, 2009. Creditor claims not received by this bar date
will be extinguished, and the Creditors asserting such claims will not be
entitled to participate in any forthcoming restructuring plan.
The Monitor, Ernst & Young Inc., and the Company's Claims Agent, Epiq
Bankruptcy Solutions, LLC, will be mailing proof of claim packages and
instruction letters to all known creditors. In addition, a copy of the court
orders, the proof of claim package and an instruction letter will be available
through a link on abitibibowater.com. Creditors, or any other interested
parties, who do not receive a proof of claim package can obtain the
information through the Company website. In order to promote awareness of the
Claims Process, a Notice to Creditors will be published weekly over the coming
weeks in a number of English and French newspapers.
Certain creditors are not required to file claims in the Claims Process
including, among other creditors, active employees or employees that were
active at the date of AbitibiBowater's creditor protection filing on April 16,
2009. This group of employees has been excluded from the Claims Process at
this time given the Company's restructuring initiatives continue to unfold.
Employees and other creditors not presently included in the Claims Process
will be advised when the Company seeks to approve a date for the filing of any
claims by these individuals, if necessary, at a future date.
More information about AbitibiBowater's restructuring process can be
found at www.abitibibowater.com or by calling toll-free 888 266-9280.
International callers should dial 503 597-7698.
AbitibiBowater produces a wide range of newsprint, commercial printing
papers, market pulp and wood products. It is the eighth largest publicly
traded pulp and paper manufacturer in the world. AbitibiBowater owns or
operates 23 pulp and paper facilities and 29 wood products facilities located
in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and South Korea. Marketing
its products in more than 90 countries, the Company is also among the world's
largest recyclers of old newspapers and magazines, and has third-party
certified 100% of its managed woodlands to sustainable forest management
standards. AbitibiBowater's shares trade over-the-counter on the Pink Sheets
and on the OTC Bulletin Board under the stock symbol ABWTQ.
