Canfor’s Vida Group completes sawmill acquisitions

Canfor, the British Columbia-based forest products and lumber producer reported that its European subsidiary has completed the acquisition of three sawmills.

Vida Group, which is 70% owned by Canfor, has purchased the mills from Bergs Timber for about 43 million Canadian dollars (US$32.78 million).

The mills, which are located in Vimmerby, Mörlunda and Orrefors, Sweden, will add approximately 215 million board feet to Vida’s annual capacity. With additional investment, Vida anticipates the production capacity of the mills can be increased to 300 million board feet.

After accounting for this additional production capacity, operations in Sweden represent 22% of Canfor’s globally diversified operating platforms, plus 43% in British Columbia, 31% in the Southern United States, and 4% in Alberta. 

Canfor acquired 70% of Vida Group in 2019 for about US $440 million. In total, Canfor has approximately 7 billion board feet of lumber production capacity across all facilities.