Owner of Prince Albert pulp mill buy previous owner, Domtar for $3 billion

By Glenn Hicks

Paper Excellence, the company that owns and plans to reopen the pulp mill in Prince Albert, is buying the mill’s previous owners, Domtar in a $3 billion cash deal.

B.C. based Paper Excellence is a global diversified manufacturer of pulp and specialty, printing, writing, and packaging papers, and Montreal-based Domtar is a leading provider of fiber-based products.

In a media release, Paper Excellence said after the deal closes it intends to continue the operations of Domtar as a stand-alone business entity. As such, Domtar will continue to be led by its management team and Paper Excellence plans to retain its corporate and production locations.

The transaction is expected to wrap up in the second half of 2021, subject to Domtar shareholder approval, receipt of the required regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Paper Excellence purchased the defunct Prince Albert pulp mill from Domtar in 2011. About 700 people lost their jobs when Weyerhaeuser closed its Prince Albert location in 2006. Domtar bought the mill two years later but operations never resumed. A non-compete clause with Domtar prevented Paper Excellence from producing pulp for a number of years..

In the summer of 2018, it started moves towards an evaluation of operations and announced early this year it planned to restart the facility as early as 2023.

The company has spent over $600,000 on engineering and consulting work for new equipment at the site and to evaluate existing equipment that will be refurbished.

The full media release on the Paper Excellence-Domtar deal can be seen here.