Paul Quinn
Analyst · RBC. Please proceed with your question
Hey thanks, Marcus. Turning to Page 11, as announced on April 12, we will be selling our lumber mill and newsprint facility to GreenFirst Forest products for purchase price of approximately $214 million plus an additional $6 million related to a chip offset agreement. The purchase price will fluctuate based on the level of inventory delivered at closing which we are currently assuming to be about $74 million. 85% of the purchase price will be paid in cash with the remaining 15% being paid in shares of GreenFirst which has upside potential. It's important to note that Rayon will also retain all earnings of these businesses up until closing which is not expected to incur until sometime in the second half of the year and is expected to provide a substantial amount of incremental value. Rayon will also retain all the rights to do this paid into the U.S. Department of Commerce up until closing which we estimate will be around a $110 million. In total with captured significant value for our shareholders in this transaction, as our investors know, the lumber business is very cyclical and the newsprint business is in secular decline. Just a year ago this time, all of these assets were shut down due to lack of demand. And we've stated that with an appropriate valuation we would consider further portfolio optimization and divide -- divest the company of these businesses. Over the past three years, EBITDA has averaged $34 million for these businesses. Based on our $214 million purchase price, we're capturing an enterprise multiple of over six times through this cycle. We plan to use the proceeds for the sale of the lumber newsprint businesses to both repaid debt and investing key strategic opportunities in our high purity cellulose business which over time has had higher margins that investors tend to reward with a higher enterprise multiple. As such, looking forward on Slide 12, the BioFuture of Rayon will center around opportunities to leverage bio-based solutions out of our four manufacturing locations in Quebec, Georgia, Florida and France, along with our world-class R&D centers. We are a leading manufacturer of cellulose specialties across all grades from acetate, plastics, using traction and screwdriver handles to cellulose ethers used for many food and pharmaceutical additives. We're also a producer of differentiated commodity products such as fluff, viscose and lyocell in our environmentally friendly textile. Additionally, we also continue to produce a new quality leading Kallima branded 3-ply paperboard and a mechanical hardwood pulp. The tailwind supporting prices on our commodity products in strong demand for our cellulose specialties, we are well-positioned to capture value with the upswing of the market. Turning to Slide 13, we also have the ability to invest in our businesses to capture even greater value that helps smooth out the peaks and values of commodity markets. These investments into our BioFuture will add to our product diversity in our financial growth. After corona, manufacturing process are cellulose pulp products. But we know that much more can be done with these assets. We've already invested in producing new Lignin salt and each had each of our three softwood sulphite facilities in Florida, France, and Quebec. We've also invested in green energy projects in these facilities including last year's new bioelectric turbine auditioned in Tartas. And we are exploring the opportunities for similar bioelectric investments in our Georgia facility. Other area of explorations are in our second generation bioethanol as well as biomaterial such as natural prebiotics which we believe can further diversify revenue streams coming from our asset and drive more value for our shareholders. Looking at Page 14, as I noticed at the beginning of the call, an additional investment into our BioFuture is the investment in Anomera. An entire new opportunity for growth. This investment applies a technology platform that expands our core competency of cellulose chemistry. Anomera produces the highest quality cellulose nanocrystals sustainably sourced from our Temiscaming cellulose specialties. These nanocrystals can be formed into a variety of building blocks including microbeads a biodegradable natural alternative for plastic, cosmetic texturing powders as well as products that can enhance performance properties in cements, paints and coatings, composites, adhesives, agricultural, medical pharma and life sciences. Anomera is headquartered in Montreal with a team of nearly 20 scientist and 17 patents. And is currently in the process of developing a specialty manufacturing facility on our property in Temiscaming which can produce over a 500,000 kilograms nanocellulose per year. Since 2017, we have invested in a total of $8 million in Anomera through the end of this first quarter. Rayon is the largest shareholder with 44% loading interest and we expect to make additional investments over the next five years. We are excited about the future of Rayon. Our reputation as the market leader in cellulose specialties with differentiating commodities within fluff and viscous market, positions us well for the future. A diverse asset allows to service all the cellulose specialties market segment, our leading R&D platform and BioFuture investment opportunities will further broaden our presence. We have proven that we can control cost and manage cash to drive stronger liquidity and a more flexible balance sheet. Now the market conditions are in our favor, we're well on our way to capitalize and grow our business. So with that operator let me open up the call for questions.