On December 9, 2010, pulp and paper giant AbitibiBowater Inc. completed its restructuring and emerged from creditor protection in the US and Canada. This culminated a process initiated more than eighteen months earlier on April 16, 2009, when AbitibiBowater Inc. and certain of its US and Canadian subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions in the US under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code and the following day when AbitibiBowater and certain of its Canadian subsidiaries sought creditor protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act ("CCAA") in Canada.

In this high-profile cross-border insolvency and restructuring case (named by Lexpert magazine as one of the Top 10 Corporate Deals of 2010), Fasken Martineau acted for the 364-day secured term loan lenders, having a consolidated secured claim against both the Canadian and US debtors in excess of US$350 million. Our clients received payment of all amounts owing to them. These lenders were one of only two groups of secured creditors of the Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. debtors.

The Fasken Martineau team was led by Xeno Martis and Alain Riendeau, and included Serge Guérette, Dominique Gibbens, Angela Onesi, Alexandre Gagnon, Félix Gutierrez and Luc Morin in Montreal and Donald Milner and Scott Rollwagen in Toronto.