Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 15 March 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - AbitibiBowater Inc., doing business as Resolute Forest Products (NYSE: ABH) (TSX: ABH), today announced that it has received a favorable decision from the federal Minister of Industry, following his review of the company's proposed acquisition of Fibrek Inc. (TSX: FBK) under the Investment Canada Act.

The offer to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Fibrek made by Resolute, together with RFP Acquisition Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary, is more fully described in the offer circular and other ancillary documentation that Resolute filed on 15 December 2011, on the SEDAR Web site (www.sedar.com) maintained by the Canadian Securities Administrators, as varied and extended. The offer has a scheduled expiration of 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on 19 March 2012, unless it is extended or withdrawn by Resolute.

Questions and requests for assistance or further information on how to tender Fibrek common shares to the offer should be directed to, and copies of the above referenced documents may be obtained by contacting Georgeson at 1-866-598-0048 or by email at askus@georgeson.com.

Resolute is a global leader in the forest products industry. Its diverse range of products include newsprint, commercial printing papers, market pulp, and wood products. Resolute owns or operates 18 pulp and paper mills and 23 wood product facilities in the United States, Canada, and South Korea. Marketing its products in close to 90 countries, Resolute has third-party certified 100% of its managed woodlands to sustainable forest management standards. The shares of Resolute trade under the stock symbol ABH on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Resolute and other member companies of the Forest Products Association of Canada, as well as a number of environmental organizations, are partners in the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement. The group works to identify solutions to conservation issues that meet the goal of balancing equally the three pillars of sustainability linked to human activities: economic, social, and environmental. Resolute is also a member of the World Wildlife Fund's Climate Savers program, in which businesses establish ambitious targets to voluntarily reduce greenhouse gas emissions and work aggressively toward achieving them.