Sale of Atikokan Forest Products still possible, mayor says

Atikokan mayor says the potential sale of Atikokan Forest Products to Montreal-based EACOM may still go ahead.

In early May, EACOM announced that it had entered into asset purchase agreements with Pricewaterhouse Coopers. The firm is acting as the court-appointed receiver for the bankrupt sawmills.

Recently, the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry informed the receiver that the wood previously available to the mill has been re-allocated. That decision was thought to be a deal-breaker, but Atikokan mayor Dennis Brown said EACOM's president has informed him the company is still looking at purchasing the sawmill.

Brown added that if EACOM can find another business willing to negotiate a reliable wood supply, the sale may still go through.

That would open the door for the mill to possibly re-open.

The two Buchanan-owned mills went bankrupt in January.

EACOM is also negotiating to purchase the assets of Northern Sawmills located in Thunder Bay.

But that sale would not result in plans to revive the operation.

When Atikokan Forest Products closed in 2007, hundreds of forest industry jobs were lost to that community and this area.