Canfor to go private, sell remaining shares to Great Pacific

Canfor Corporation has announced it will take the company private by selling its remaining shares to Great Pacific Capital Corp. for $16/share.

Great Pacific, owned by business magnate Jim Pattison, already owns approximately 51 per cent of the issued and outstanding common shares of Canfor.

An independent committee of Canfor’s board of directors made the recommendation to take the company private after convening in August 2019.

According to the company, ongoing industry headwinds in the forestry sector, including high log costs due to supply constraints and significant declines in benchmark price for both lumber and pulp, have had negative impacts on Canfor’s current financial results (the company cited a $90.4 million loss in its third quarter financial results).

“Over the last few months, with the assistance of the special committee’s independent financial and legal advisors, we have conducted a thorough evaluation of the best interests of Canfor and the fairness of Great Pacific’s proposal to shareholders,” said Conrad Pinette, chair of the independent committee.

“Following the conclusion of this evaluation, we are pleased to have reached an agreement with Great Pacific. The special committee believes that the transaction represents fair value for shareholders and is the correct path forward for Canfor, Canfor employees, communities and shareholders.”