Rayonier pledges support to Tembec

MONTREAL — Rayonier Advanced Materials has vowed it will “come to bat” for Tembec in the U.S.-Canadian softwood lumber dispute after announcing its friendly takeover of the Quebec company last week. “We’ll be supportive of whatever works best for Quebec, Ontario, and our position here,” Rayonier Chairman and CEO Paul Boynton told reporters last week. The US$807-million acquisition doesn’t affect the countervailing duties imposed by the U.S. on Canadian softwood lumber, but Tembec CEO James Lopez said Rayonier’s size and capital will help to offset the costs associated with them.

Assurances that Tembec’s Montreal headquarters will be kept intact didn’t fully assuage Unifor, which bargains for 900 Tembec workers. “We are concerned that the headquarters of Canadian operations in Montreal will have only a minor role in the direction of the company’s operations,” said director Renaud Gagne. Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard expressed unwillingness to intervene in a deal agreed by the companies’ respective boards, but the sale of companies to interests outside Quebec continues to be a sore spot in the province, following on the loss of firms like RONA and the iconic Saint-Hubert restaurants.

https://hardlines.ca/wp-content/themes/hardlines-responsive