Privately held OSB producer Grant Forest Products Inc has begun a process of reorganizing the financial affairs of its Canadian operations under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).
The Ontario-based company said it was taking this step to allow an organised restructuring of its liabilities. However, media reports suggested the protection filing came after a division of General Electric Co tried to force the company into bankruptcy.
In its statement, Grant said the global economic situation and the dramatic downturn in housing markets, particularly in the US, had “significantly changed the operating environment for the entire industryand that a capital restructuring was necessary to position the company for future growth.
President Peter Grant Jr said Grant Forest Products had entered the CCAA process with the cooperation of its lenders, and described it as a “proactive step to reorganise the company in a way that will help ensure our future success.”