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PwC Corporate Finance closes sale of MDFP to West Fraser Timber

November 3, 2015 - PwC recently announced the successful sale of Manning Diversified Forest Products Ltd. (MDFP) to West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (West Fraser).

MDFP is located near Edmonton, Alta. and produces high quality lumber for a variety of end users. West Fraser, a diversified wood products company holds facilities in western Canada and the southern United States. They are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “WFT.”

In early 2015 the PwC Corporate Finance team in Vancouver was retained as the exclusive financial advisor to MDFP and its shareholders in connection with the transaction. We led all aspects of the transaction process including preparing the company for sale, marketing the deal to several dozen strategic and private equity parties and securing competitive offers for the business—all of which ultimately allowed MDFP's shareholders to achieve deal success with an excellent price and terms. The total transaction value amounted to C$66 million plus working capital at closing.

The deal represents a marquee win for the PwC Corporate Finance team. RBC Capital Markets analyst Paul Quinn commented on Oct. 28, "We note that the purchase price is on the high end, but as management noted, the company paid a premium price for a premium asset." 

West Fraser president and CEO Ted Seraphim echoed these comments, stating in the company's Q3 earnings call that walking into that mill felt like they were walking into a mill that West Fraser had owned for many years.

November 3, 2015  By PwC