AbitibiBowater Inc. Prices Private Notes and Loan

Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 26 March 2008 -- /PRNewswire/ -- AbitibiBowater Inc. announced today that Abitibi-Consolidated Company of Canada (ACCC), an indirect subsidiary of AbitibiBowater, has priced a private offering of USD 413,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 13.75% senior secured notes due 01 April 2011. The notes are being sold to qualified institutional buyers in reliance on Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and to non-U.S. persons in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act.

The notes have not been registered under the Securities Act or any state securities laws. Therefore, the notes may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements.

ACCC also today priced a USD 400,000,000 364-day senior-secured term loan with a coupon of LIBOR + 800 basis points, with a 3.5% LIBOR floor, at a price of 96% of par.

The closing of both transactions is expected to occur on or about 01 April 2008, subject to the concurrent closing of both transactions and two other previously announced transactions. All four transactions are subject to the satisfaction of various closing conditions, including the receipt of various third-party approvals. The net proceeds from all four transactions will be used as part of the overall refinancing plan for the company's Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. subsidiary, which is intended to address upcoming debt maturities and general liquidity needs.

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 35 wood products facilities 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.