AbitibiBowater Amends Terms of Private Debt Exchange Offer

Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 19 March 2008 -- /PRNewswire/ -- AbitibiBowater Inc. announced today that its indirect subsidiary, Abitibi-Consolidated Company of Canada (ACCC), has amended certain of the terms of its previously announced private exchange offers with respect to an aggregate of approximately USD 496 million of outstanding debt securities issued by ACCC, Abitibi-Consolidated Inc., or Abitibi-Consolidated Finance L.P. (ACF), a wholly owned subsidiary of Abitibi (collectively, the ACI Notes).

An informal group of noteholders holding both 2008 notes and 2009 notes, representing approximately USD 324 million in aggregate principal amount of the total USD 496 million, negotiated and supports the terms of the revised exchange offer.

Bracewell & Giuliani LLP and Goodmans LLP, is serving as special U.S. and Canadian counsel to the noteholders.

ACCC is offering as consideration, in exchange for the tender of the ACI Notes, a combination of cash and new 15.5% unsecured senior notes due 2010 of ACCC. ACCC announced today that it has instituted a withdrawal deadline of 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on 26 March 2008, unless otherwise extended, and extended the consent payment deadline for the exchange offers for the ACI Notes and the concurrent consent solicitations. As a result, holders of such notes who wish to receive the total consideration offered pursuant to the exchange offers must now validly tender and not validly withdraw their ACI Notes on or before 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on 31 March 2008, unless extended or earlier terminated.

The ACI Notes consist of USD 195,612,000 principal amount of 6.95% Senior Notes due 01 April 2008, issued by Abitibi; USD 150,000,000 principal amount of 5.25% Senior Notes due 20 June 2008, issued by ACCC; and USD 150,000,000 principal amount of 7.875% Senior Notes due 01 August 2009, issued by ACF.

ACCC announced that, in addition to the extension of the Consent Payment Deadline, the terms of the exchange offers have been amended to:

- increase the consideration to be paid for the exchange of the ACI Notes
on or before the Consent Payment Deadline in accordance with the
table below;
- provide that the indenture for the Exchange Notes will include
covenants substantially similar to those contained in the indenture for
the new Senior Secured Notes being offered by ACCC in a concurrent
private offering; and
- reduce the minimum tender condition with respect to the ACI Notes due
in 2009 to 75% from 90%.

The consideration offered by ACCC for the exchange of ACI Notes is as follows:

For each USD ($) 1000 Principal
Amount Exchanged
------------------------------------
If Tendered If Tendered
By the Consent After the Consent
Payment Deadline Payment Deadline

Principal Principal
Amount of Amount of
Outstanding New Senior New Senior
ACI Notes Principal Notes Due Notes Due
to be Exchanged Amount 2010 Cash 2010 Cash

6.95% Senior Notes
due 2008 $195,612,000 $550 $550 $600 $400
5.25% Senior Notes
due 2008 $150,000,000 $550 $550 $600 $400
7.875% Senior Notes
due 2009 $150,000,000 $850 $250 $850 $150

The exchange offers and consent solicitations relating to the ACI Notes are being made upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Second Amended and Restated Offering Circular and Consent Solicitation Statement dated 18 March 2008, and the related Letter of Transmittal and Consent. Further details about the terms and conditions of the exchange offers and consent solicitations relating to the ACI Notes are set forth in the Offering Circular.

The Exchange Notes will not be and have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption to the registration requirements.

About AbitibiBowater

AbitibiBowater produces a wide range of newsprint, commercial printing papers, market pulp, and wood products. It is the eighth largest publicly traded pulp and paper manufacturer in the world. Following the required divestiture agreed to with the U.S. Department of Justice, AbitibiBowater will own or operate 27 pulp and paper facilities and 31 wood products facilities located in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and South Korea. Marketing its products in more than 90 countries, AbitibiBowater is also among the world's largest recyclers of newspapers and magazines, and has more third-party certified sustainable forest land than any other company in the world. AbitibiBowater's shares trade under the stock symbol ABH on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Source: AbitibiBowater Inc.