Chandler, December 21, 2007 – The intense efforts of the past few years to relaunch Papiers Gaspésia have been in vain as no takers were found to re-open the mill. As a result, Société de développement économique et industriel de Chandler (SDEIC) and its partners have accepted Vantek Incorporated’s offer to purchase.
Valued at US$40 million, this transaction will allow Vantek to purchase the Papiers Gaspésia mill and all its equipment. In the coming months Vantek plans to sell the main equipment and dismantle the buildings on the main site.
The transaction is good for the City of Chandler, which gets to keep all the Papiers Gaspésia land. The deal will generate liquidities in the order of some million dollars that will be invested in an economic development fund to finance new projects in the region.
“We worked tirelessly to create scenarios that would allow the company to reopen but we had no success. After four years of trying, the Vantek offer is the best under the circumstances. It will give us all the latitude we need to redevelop the Gaspésia land, and in this regard, all the citizens of Chandler will benefit. We’re turning an important page in our history and we’re optimistic as regards future projects,” stated President of SDEIC and Chandler Mayor Claude Cyr.
Vantek’s offer, which would have expired within the next few days, has received the backing and support of all of Papiers Gaspésia’s financial partners; namely, Société générale de financement du Québec, Solidarity Fund QFL, Tembec and Investissement Québec. All the players dedicated themselves wholeheartedly to this matter and gave SDEIC the help it needed to conclude this transaction, which under the circumstances, is the best for the city of Chandler and the region.
The projects submitted in the past few days to use a part of the Gaspésia buildings and equipment with a view to producing and exporting paper pulp were considered and analyzed. Unfortunately, the promoters were not able to provide sufficient guarantees that their projects would come to fruition. Under the circumstances, and in the best interests of the Chandler community, the Vantek offer had to be accepted.
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Information:
The following telephone numbers are provided for the exclusive use of journalists and other media representatives.
Sources : Claude Cyr
Président de la SDEIC
418 689-2221
Marie-Claude Lemieux
Conseillère principale, Communications et relations avec les médias
Société générale de financement du Québec
514 876-9368
mclemieux@sgfqc.com
Josée Lagacé
Conseillère principale aux relations de presse et aux communications
Fonds de solidarité FTQ
514 850-4835
jlagace@fondsftq.com
Michel J. Dumas
Vice-président exécutif, Finances et chef des finances
Tembec Inc.
819 627-4268
michel.dumas@tembec.com
Josée Béland
Responsable des communications Europe
Investissement Québec
514 873-6027
josee.beland@invest-quebec.com