Tembec announces impending divestiture of French Kraft pulp mills

TEMISCAMING, QC, April 1 /CNW Telbec/ - Tembec today announced that its European subsidiary, Tembec SAS, is in advanced negotiations with Paper Excellence B.V. for the sale of two Kraft pulp mills located in Tarascon and Saint-Gaudens, France. This potential transaction would be the culmination of a process first announced in November of 2009.

As currently proposed, Paper Excellence B.V. would acquire 100% of the shares of Tembec Saint-Gaudens SAS and Tembec Tarascon SAS, two subsidiaries of Tembec SAS. The total consideration for the proposed transaction would be approximately 100 million Euros (C $137 million) allocated as between shares and assumption of debt, subject to closing working capital adjustments.

Due to the advanced nature of the negotiations, Tembec SAS has initiated the process of consultation with mill employee committees, as required under French Law. Tembec SAS expects to finalize the transaction shortly after the consultation process is complete.

"This contemplated transaction is consistent with the Strategic Plan launched by the Company following the February 2008 recapitalization of our balance sheet and, in our view, represents fair value for these assets," said James Lopez, President and CEO of Tembec.

Tembec is a large, diversified and integrated forest products company which stands as the global leader in sustainable forest management practices. The Company's principal operations are located in Canada and France. Tembec's common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TMB and warrants under TMB.WT. Additional information on Tembec is available on its website at www.tembec.com.

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of securities laws. Such statements relate to the Company's or management's objectives, projections, estimates, expectations or predictions of the future and can be identified by words such as "will", "anticipate", "estimate", "expect" and "project" or variations of such words. These statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by the Company in light of its experience and its perception of future developments. Such statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, changes in foreign exchange rates, product selling prices, raw material and operating costs and other factors identified in our periodic filings with securities regulatory authorities. Many of these risks are beyond the control of the Company and, therefore, may cause actual actions or results to materially differ from those expressed or implied herein. The Company disclaims any intention to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable securities legislation.

For further information: John Valley, Executive Vice President, Business Development and Corporate Affairs, [phone], [email protected]; Michel Dumas, Executive Vice President, Finance and CFO, [phone], [email protected]