GreenFirst Announces Successful Debt Refinancing

$140 million in new financing with improved terms and lower costs

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GreenFirst Forest Products Inc. (TSX: GFP) (“GreenFirst” or the “Company”) today announced the closing of $140 million in financing from the Bank of Montreal (“BMO”). The financing includes a $125 million asset-backed revolving credit facility and a $15 million term loan. This refinancing replaced a high yield US$90 million secured term loan and a $65 million asset-backed loan facility.

The refinanced credit terms have lowered the Company’s cost of capital and have simplified compliance. The terms also provide GreenFirst with flexibility to advance our strategy, which includes deploying capital to expand production at our operations and the possible sale of non-core assets.

“We are pleased with the more favourable terms in this refinanced debt and the financial flexibility it gives us” said Alfred Colas, Chief Financial Officer of GreenFirst. “This is a significant improvement for us, and we appreciate the beneficial new relationship with BMO.”

“We thank BMO for partnering with us to build our business with lower cost and less administrative burden.” said Rick Doman, Chief Executive Offer of GreenFirst. “In addition, we are grateful for the support and dedication of our GreenFirst team towards this closing. We look forward to the continued execution of our plan to meet near-term milestones and drive shareholder value.”

About GreenFirst

GreenFirst Forest Products is a forest-first business, focused on sustainable forest management and lumber production. The Company owns 7 sawmills and 1 paper mill across Ontario and Quebec. GreenFirst is a significant lumber producer in Canada having an annual lumber production capacity of 905MMfbm, with a goal to increase. GreenFirst’s mills are located in rich wood baskets proudly operating over 9.2 million hectares of FSC® certified public and private Canadian forestlands (FSC®-C167905). The Company believes that responsible forest practices, coupled with the long-term green advantage of lumber, provide GreenFirst with significant cyclical and secular advantages in building products. GreenFirst’s long-term vision is to be a leader in the global forestry industry.

Forward Looking Information

Certain information in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are often identified by terms such as “may”, “should”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “potential”, “believe”, “intend”, “estimate” or the negative of these terms and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and, while GreenFirst considers these assumptions to be reasonable, based on information currently available, they may prove to be incorrect. In addition, forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including those set out in GreenFirst’s public disclosure record filed under its profile on www.sedar.com. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and reflect our expectations as of the date hereof, and thus are subject to change thereafter. GreenFirst disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.