Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 23 March 2009 -- /CNW Telbec/ -- AbitibiBowater, Inc. announced today that Bowater Finance II LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of AbitibiBowater, has extended the expiration date for its previously announced private exchange offers, consent solicitation, and concurrent private notes offering until 25 March 2009, unless further extended.

The exchange offers, consent solicitation, and concurrent notes offering had been scheduled to expire at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on 20 March 2009. As of 20 March 2009, approximately 60.3% of the outstanding 9.00% debentures due 2009, 60.8% of the outstanding floating rate senior notes due 2010, 67.8% of the outstanding 7.95% notes due 2011, 70.2% of the outstanding 9.50% debentures due 2012, 80.2% of the outstanding 6.50% notes due 2013, and 40.4% of the outstanding 9.375% debentures due 2021 were validly tendered and not validly withdrawn in the exchange offers.

The exchange offers and concurrent notes offering are being made only to qualified institutional buyers inside the United States and to certain non-U.S. investors located outside the United States.
 
AbitibiBowater produces a wide range of newsprint and commercial printing papers, market pulp, and wood products. It is the eighth largest publicly traded pulp and paper manufacturer in the world. AbitibiBowater owns or operates 24 pulp and paper facilities and 30 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 third-party certified 100% of its managed woodlands to sustainable forest management standards. AbitibiBowater's shares trade under the stock symbol ABH on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange.