Abitibi-Consolidated Completes Offer

On September 16, 2004, Abitibi-Consolidated Company of Canada, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abitibi-Consolidated Inc., completed its registered offer to exchange launched on July 30, 2004 and extended on September 10, 2004 relating to the outstanding US$200 million aggregate principal amount of its floating rate notes due June 15, 2011 (the floating rate original notes) and US$200 million aggregate principal amount of its 7.75 per cent notes due June 15, 2011 (the 7.75 per cent original notes), unconditionally guaranteed as to payment by Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. (collectively, the original notes). The whole of the US$200 million principal amount of the floating rate original notes and of the US$200 million principal amount of the 7.75 per cent original notes were tendered under the exchange offer. The exchange offer, with respect of which a short form prospectus was filed with, and receipted by, the Autorité des marchés financiers (Québec), followed the completion by Abitibi-Consolidated Company of Canada and Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. on June 15, 2004 of the private placement of the original notes in the US.

The transaction was led by Isabel Pouliot, managing counsel of Abitibi-Consolidated Inc., assisted by in-house counsels Mélanie Allaire and Thierry Brossard. Abitibi-Consolidated was represented in Canada by Stikeman Elliott LLP with a team comprised of Pierre A. Raymond, Louis Morisset and Frédéric Brassard (corporate and securities matters) and Monique Lussier and Mélanie Beaudoin (environment); and in the US by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP with a team that included Edwin Maynard, Andrew Foley, Ian Putnam, Sheila Gibb and Ndidi Oriji.

The initial purchasers of the original notes under the private placement, led by Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Banc of America Securities LLC as joint book-running managers, were advised by Christopher Cummings, Adam Givertz and Carole Dagher of Shearman & Sterling LLP.