Greenwich, Connecticut, USA, 24 February 2010 -- (Bloomberg) --- Bear Island Paper Co. LLC, newsprint producer, has filed for bankruptcy court protection citing the declining demand for newsprint.

Based in Ashland, Virginia, the company listed assets of USD 100 million to USD 500 million and debt of USD 500 million to USD 1 billion in Chapter 11 documents filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Virginia.

White Birch Paper Co., the second largest newsprint maker in North America and parent of Bear Island, filed for bankruptcy reorganization today in Quebec, Canada. In addition to the Bear Island plant in Ashland, Virginia, White Birch has three pulp and paper mills in the province of Quebec.

The companies have been “confronted with an unprecedented combination of negative economic circumstances,” said Edward Sherrick, Bear Island chief financial officer, in court papers.

The parent and Canadian subsidiaries are undergoing reorganization in the Quebec Superior Court under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. The Canadian companies are also filing petitions for protection in the U.S. under Chapter 15.