AbitibiBowater Seeks To Pay Fees To Line Up $2.3B In Capital

By Eric Morath Of DOW JONES DAILY BANKRUPTCY REVIEW AbitibiBowater Inc. (ABWTQ) is seeking to pay fees to banks that will assist it in lining up more than $2.3 billion in capital that the newsprint maker says is necessary for it to emerge from Chapter 11 protection. In papers filed Wednesday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., AbitibiBowater said lining up the necessary financing is "critical" as it prepares to seek permission to send its bankruptcy-exit plan to creditors on July 7 and emerge from Chapter 11 this fall. "Consummation of the plans depends...on obtaining financing sufficient to meet the company's cash obligations under the plans and to provide the reorganized company with appropriate working capital," AbitibiBowater said in court papers. AbitibiBowater says it needs at least $2.3 billion to meet those obligations. A portion of that total will be met with cash on hand and a $500 million debt offering backstopped by certain bondholders that the paper maker is attempting to finalize this week. The remaining funds will come from some combination of a revolving credit facility, a term loan and a new bond issuance. The company is seeking permission to pay J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Citigroup Inc. (C) and Barclays PLC (BCS) $1.2 million in fees and cover up to $300,000 in costs to arrange that financing. Paying the fees and allowing the advisers to shop for financing options will allow the company to "move swiftly and surely towards obtaining committed exit financing on the best terms available," AbitibiBowater said. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for July 15. Last month, AbitibiBowater filed a Chapter 11 plan that would pay secured lenders in full, in cash, and allow unsecured creditors, including bondholders, to take control of the company. Among the company's secured creditors is a U.S. lender group led by Wells Fargo Bank (WFC), which as of March 31, 2009, was owed $203.8 million in principal. A Canadian lender group, led by Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS), was owed $63.5 million in principal as of the same date. AbitibiBowater, based in Montreal, is the world's largest producer of newsprint. The company employs 11,900 workers, primarily at 22 pulp and paper facilities and 26 wood-products facilities in the U.S., Canada and South Korea. The company filed for bankruptcy protection last year in the U.S. and Canada to restructure some $7 billion in debt. It blamed the downturn in the newspaper industry and volatile commodity prices for its financial woes. (Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review covers news about distressed companies and those under bankruptcy protection) -By Eric Morath; Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review; 202-862-9279; eric.morath@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 24, 2010 14:06 ET (18:06 GMT)