MERCER TO ACQUIRE PULP GIANT
Mercer International Inc. has signed a deal to acquire Daishowa-Marubeni International Ltd., which owns a bleached kraft pulp mill in Peace River, Alta., and a 50-per-cent stake in a joint venture that operates a bleached kraft pulp mill in Quesnel, B.C. Under the deal with Marubeni Corp., Nippon Paper Industries Co. Ltd., and Daishowa North America Corp., Mercer will pay $465 million for the assets. Mercer says the deal will boost its annual output capacity for pulp by about 41 per cent. DMI also holds 20-year term renewable forest management agreements and deciduous timber allocations in Alberta, with an annual allowable cut of about 2.4 million cubic metres of hardwood and 400,000 cubic metres of softwood. The accord is subject to customary closing conditions, including anti-trust approvals. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.