Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
- BCFP
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
British Columbia Forest Products Limited (BCFP) was a forestry company that operated from 1946 to 1986 in British Columbia. BCFP expanded to include timber production, pulp and paper, veneer, plywood and transportation operations. For many years, it was considered to be the second largest forest company operating in British Columbia.
In January 1969, Noranda and Mead made a joint offer to acquire control of British Columbia Forest Products (BCFP). Mead already held an interest in this company and together the two companies had previously begun accumulating shares in the market. Noranda made a public offer to acquire 400,000 share (10.8%) of British Columbia Forest Products. The price was to one-half a share of Noranda plus $22.50 in cash. On the day prior to the announcement, the closing share prices of Noranda and BCFP were $35 and $31.25 respectively. This meant the offer was equivalent to $40 per BCFP share, a 28% premium.
At the time of the offer, Noranda and Mead each owned directly 427,700 share (11.5%). In addition, through Brunswick Pulp and Paper Company, a U.S. company, Mead also had a 50% interest in 1,000,000 shares. Noranda further announced that, upon completion of the offer, its holdings and those of Mead would be equalized. Following the offer, a voting trust agreement representing the combined holdings of the companies was made in favour of Northwood Pulp.
At the time of purchase, BCFP was contemplating a major expansion project at Mackenzie. This was later approved and production of a new pulp mill began early in 1973.
BCFP was purchased in 1987 by Fletcher Challenge Limited of New Zealand and merged with BC company Crown Forest Industries. Fletcher Challenge Canada Limited was thereby established with a sharpened focus on pulp and paper. In 2000, Norwegian paper company Norske Skog purchased all of Fletcher Challenge’s pulp and paper assets and the company name changed to Norske Skog Canada Limited. The size of the company doubled in 2001 with the acquisition of Pacifica Papers and the merged operation assumed the name NorskeCanada. In 2005 the business was renamed Catalyst Paper.
Sources:
Royal Commission on Corporate Concentration, Noranda Mines Limited: A Corporate Background Report. 1976. p. 19-20, 90-92.