Interfor exiting Québec
Interfor Corporation is exiting its operations in Québec, Canada, according to the company. The move includes the sale of its three local manufacturing facilities and the closure of its Montréal corporate office. According to Interfor, the decision will shift its focus to the "areas of highest future potential across the remainder of the company."
As part of the exit plan, Interfor has entered into an agreement to sell its sawmills in Val-d’Or and Matagami as well as its Sullivan remanufacturing plant in Val-d’Or, along with all associated forestry and business operations, to Chantiers Chibougamau Ltée (CCL), a privately-held, Québec-based forestry company.
The purchase price is estimated to be approximately $30 million in cash, based on the value of specific working capital items at June 30, 2024. Additionally, Interfor and CCL will enter into a multi-year contract for the supply of Machine Stress Rated lumber to Interfor’s I-Joist engineered wood products facility in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
The sale does not include any countervailing (CV) or anti-dumping (AD) duty deposits related to the ongoing U.S./Canada softwood lumber trade dispute. All historical CV & AD deposits up to the date of closing will be retained by Interfor. Total CV & AD deposits related to the facilities up to June 30, 2024 totaled approximately US$56 million, excluding any interest.
As part of the exit plan, Interfor also announced that it intends to permanently close its corporate office in Montréal in coming months.
Interfor will continue to own and operate its five sawmills and one I-Joist EWP facility in Ontario and its two sawmills and woodlands management business in New Brunswick.
“After careful review of the potential future options for our Québec operations, we believe the sale to CCL is the best long-term outcome for Interfor,” said Ian Fillinger, president & CEO. “The decision to exit our Québec operations was influenced by recent developments that have restricted the availability of economic fiber, including record forest fires in 2023. This divestiture enables us to focus resources on our remaining Eastern Canadian sawmills situated in Ontario and New Brunswick, which are well-positioned with competitive log costs and an increasingly valuable spruce-pine-fir lumber product mix.”
The Val-d’Or and Matagami sawmills have a combined two-shift rated lumber production capacity of 255 million board feet per year, representing approximately 5 percent of Interfor’s total companywide capacity. However, the mills only produced 206 million board feet of lumber in the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2024, representing a utilization rate of approximately 80 percent. Since early August 2024, the mills have been operating at a utilization rate of approximately 50 percent.
The completion of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Interfor anticipates taking an impairment charge in the third quarter of 2024 associated with the announcement.
RBC Capital Markets acted as exclusive financial advisor to Interfor.
