AbitibiBowater Continues Mill Sell-off

AbitibiBowater won bankruptcy court approval to sell 16 acres and a former paper-coating plant in Covington, Tenn., for $4.6 million, according to Bloomberg, which also notes the newsprint giant's report of $3.18 million in net income in August on sales of $393.3 million.

Expected to emerge from creditor protection as early as this month, Montreal-based AbitibiBowater sold in late September the mill it closed three years ago in Lufkin, Texas. Local company Verdant Industries bought the facility for $11 million, The Lufkin Daily News reported. The paper quoted a statement from Verdant saying, "We don't know... what type of facility it will be... but there are several options on the table."

Also last month, AbitibiBowater said it was "in serious discussion with a potential buyer" for its Alabama River Newsprint mill in Perdue Hill, Ala.

A spokeswoman, however, told the Mobile Press-Register that an agreement was not expected before year's end. In January AbitibiBowater said it had no plans to sell the mill, idle for most of the past two years.