Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 03 June 2010 -- (Marketwire) -- Conifex Timber Inc., formerly West Fourth Capital Inc., announced today that it has completed the acquisition of certain sawmill and related assets located at or near Mackenzie, British Columbia, and a related equity financing and arrangement with DTR Wood Acquisitionco Ltd.
The common shares of Conifex are expected to commence trading on the TSX Venture Exchange at the open of the market on 08 June 2010, under the new trading symbol "CFF." The sawmills and other assets were acquired from Abitibi-Consolidated Company of Canada and its affiliate. The Mackenzie assets included two sawmills, including planer mills, with a combined annual production capacity of 445 million board feet of lumber on a two-shift basis, a forest licence with an annual allowable cut of approximately 932,500 cubic meters, a steam/power plant and associated turbine and boiler, and a paper mill (excluding the headbox). Conifex intends to dispose of the paper mill assets but will retain the power generation assets.
Conifex CEO Ken Shields said, "We are pleased to have secured a fiber and manufacturing base in Mackenzie with such exciting future potential. Now that Sinar Mas has purchased and plans to restart the idled NBSK pulp mill in Mackenzie, we look forward to working with the pulp mill and other stakeholders on a priority basis to develop an operating plan, which will enable us to resume harvesting and manufacturing operations on a timely basis."
In connection with the acquisition of the Mackenzie assets, DTR completed a private placement for gross proceeds of approximately CAD 89 million. The private placement consisted of the sale of subscription receipts that were subsequently exchanged for shares from treasury. In addition to the purchase of the Mackenzie assets, Conifex intends to use the funds from the financing to support a capital expenditure program, working capital, and for general corporate purposes.
Pursuant to the arrangement between Conifex and DTR, Conifex acquired all of the issued and outstanding securities of DTR in exchange for securities of Conifex. The arrangement will be a qualifying transaction for Conifex, formerly a capital pool company, under the policies of the TSXV.
Effective today, Fourth changed its name to "Conifex Timber Inc." Fourth's filing statement was filed on SEDAR on 28 May 2010, and is available for viewing under the corporation's profile at
www.sedar.com.
Ken Shields was appointed chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Conifex Timber Inc. The company will maintain a corporate office in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Conifex is an independent British Columbia company formed for the purpose of investing in the forest industry in the interior region of British Columbia and elsewhere in Canada. Conifex and its affiliates' primary business includes timber harvesting, reforestation, forest management, sawmilling logs into lumber and wood chips, and value-added lumber finishing. Conifex's lumber products are sold in the U.S., Chinese, Canadian, and Japanese markets.
Conifex's sawmill in Fort St. James, British Columbia, was purchased in August 2008 and commenced operations on a one-shift basis in March 2009. At this mill, Conifex intends to move to a two-shift operation in the second half of 2010, on completion of a capital expenditure program.
With the completion of the acquisition of the Mackenzie assets, Conifex, on a combined basis, now owns sawmills having an annual lumber production capacity in excess of 600 million board feet on a two-shift basis, all supported by renewable forestry licenses with an allowable annual cut of approximately 1.6 million cubic meters.
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