Domtar settles Canadian antitrust investigation regarding carbonless paper sales by its merchants business

TICKER SYMBOL : DTC (TSX, NYSE) 


MONTREAL, Jan. 9  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- As a result of the previously disclosed Canadian antitrust investigation in relation to sales by Canadian paper merchants, the Company today agreed to enter a guilty plea at the Ontario Superior Court with regard to sales of carbonless sheet paper in Ontario and Quebec during a part of 1999 and 2000. Pursuant to the plea, the Company has agreed to pay a total of $12.5 million, payable in installments over six and a half years.

With this plea, the Canadian antitrust authorities have concluded their investigations into the Company's business activities. The Company has chosen this solution to avoid potentially lengthy and costly litigation and focus on its business. The Company has already taken steps to ensure ongoing compliance with the Competition Act, including the implementation and monitoring of an improved competition compliance program.

The Company does not manufacture carbonless paper, but buys and resells it through its Merchant Division. Demand for this product has been declining steadily over the last several years, and the volume of carbonless sheet paper represents less than 1% of the Domtar Merchants' total volume in Ontario and Quebec. The settlement plea does not relate to Domtar's sales from its paper mills.

DOMTAR IS THE THIRD LARGEST PRODUCER OF UNCOATED FREESHEET PAPER IN NORTH AMERICA. IT IS ALSO A LEADING MANUFACTURER OF BUSINESS PAPERS, COMMERCIAL PRINTING AND PUBLICATION PAPERS, AND TECHNICAL AND SPECIALTY PAPERS. DOMTAR MANAGES ACCORDING TO INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED STANDARDS 18 MILLION ACRES OF FORESTLAND IN CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES, AND PRODUCES LUMBER AND OTHER WOOD PRODUCTS. DOMTAR HAS 10,000 EMPLOYEES ACROSS NORTH AMERICA. THE COMPANY ALSO HAS A 50% INVESTMENT INTEREST IN NORAMPAC INC., THE LARGEST CANADIAN PRODUCER OF CONTAINERBOARD. 

DATASOURCE: DOMTAR INC.



CONTACT: Christian Tardif, Manager, Corporate and Financial

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