Abitibi Consolidated Completes Global Offering

On June 18, 2003, Abitibi Consolidated Co. of Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of Abitibi Consolidated Inc., completed a global offering of US$500 million aggregate principal amount of debt securities, unconditionally guaranteed as to payment by Abitibi Consolidated Inc., under its shelf prospectus dated November 20, 2001, as amended on June 12, 2003. The issue was comprised of US$150 million principal amount of 5.25 per cent notes due in 2008 and US$350 million principal amount of 6 per cent notes due in 2013. The net proceeds from the offering were used to reduce outstanding debt under existing bank credit facilities and to refinance existing indebtedness.

Abitibi Consolidated’s in-house legal team was led by Isabel Pouliot, managing counsel, Abitibi-Consolidated Inc., assisted by in-house counsel Isabelle Poirier, Mélanie Allaire and Thierry Brossard. Abitibi Consolidated was represented in Canada, by Stikeman Elliott LLP with a team that included Marc Barbeau, Louis Morisset and Frédéric Brassard; and in the U.S., by Edwin Maynard, Ian Putnam and David Tayar of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in New York.

Citigroup acted as lead bookrunner and Banc of America Securities LLC as joint bookrunner. The underwriters were represented by Christopher Cummings, Adam Givertz and Marc Kestenberg of Shearman & Sterling LLP in Toronto.