Smurfit-Stone Files Reorganization Plans

Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. announced that the company, as well as its subsidiaries and affiliates, have filed a joint plan of reorganization and plan of compromise and arrangement and disclosure statement. The company hopes to emerge3 from bankruptcy protection by this coming spring.

Smurfit-Stone also announced that it has prepaid all of the roughly $43 million remaining outstanding of the U.S. term loan under its DIP, and expects to prepay the approximately $7 million remaining outstanding of the Canadian term loan under the DIP by the end of this month.

Patrick Moore, chairman and CEO, said, "The filing of our Plan of Reorganization and Disclosure Statement is an important step toward Smurfit-Stone's successful emergence from the reorganization process. Our employees, customers, suppliers and other supporters have been instrumental in our ability to reach this important milestone. We will remain focused on tackling the many challenges that remain ahead."

Key elements of the proposed POR are as follows:

The company and its subsidiary, Smurfit-Stone Container Enterprises Inc., would merge and become the reorganized company that would be governed by a board of directors that will include Patrick Moore, the company's current chairman and CEO, Steven Klinger, the company's current president and COO, and a number of independent directors to be selected by the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in consultation with the Debtors;

The assets of the Canadian Debtors would be sold to a newly-formed Canadian subsidiary of Smurfit-Stone free and clear of existing claims, liens and interests in exchange for the repayment of the secured debt obligations of the Canadian Debtors, cash or common stock of the reorganized Company for distribution to the Canadian Debtors' unsecured creditors if they vote to accept the POR and the assumption of certain liabilities and obligations of the Canadian Debtors; and

Reorganized Smurfit-Stone and its newly-formed Canadian subsidiary would assume all of the existing obligations under the qualified defined benefit pension plans in the United States and Canada sponsored by the Debtors, as well as all of the collective bargaining agreements in the United States and Canada between the Debtors and their labor unions.