Abitibi-Consolidated and Bowater combination approved by U.S. Department of Just

The proposed combination has now received all necessary regulatoryapprovals, including those from the Canadian Competition Bureau, the FederalMinister of Industry under the Investment Canada Act, the Québec SuperiorCourt and the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as the necessary approvalsfrom shareholders of both Abitibi-Consolidated and Bowater. The combination isexpected to close by the end of the month, following the completion of certainadministrative formalities.

Announcing the agreement, Abitibi-Consolidated President and ChiefExecutive Officer John W. Weaver commented, "We appreciate the hard work ofthe U.S. Department of Justice staff and everyone else involved in completingthis process, and with this last approval, we look forward to closing theproposed transaction quickly. We are eager to begin the work of building a newcompany that creates long-term value for all of our stakeholders."

"We believe the significant synergies we anticipate to generate from thecombination will create a stronger company, better positioned to address thechallenges of today's marketplace," added David J. Paterson, Chairman,President and Chief Executive Officer of Bowater. "We expect that a moreefficient manufacturing platform will enable us to deliver more value throughbetter product quality and improved logistical flexibility."

Abitibi-Consolidated and Bowater also announced that each company willrelease their respective third quarter 2007 results before the markets open onTuesday, November 6, 2007. Further information regarding the companies'earnings calls for analysts, and the manner in which the calls may beaccessed, will be made available shortly.

The combined company, which will be called AbitibiBowater Inc., willproduce a wide range of newsprint and commercial printing papers, market pulpand wood products. It will be the eighth largest pulp and paper manufacturerin the world. Following the required divestiture, AbitibiBowater will own oroperate 31 pulp and paper facilities and 35 wood product facilities located inthe United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and South Korea. It will also beamong the world's largest recyclers of newspapers and magazines, and will havemore third-party certified sustainable forest land than any other company inthe world. The new company's shares will trade under the stock symbol ABH onboth the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange.

About Abitibi-Consolidated Inc.

Abitibi-Consolidated is a global leader in newsprint and commercialprinting papers as well as a major producer of wood products, serving clientsin some 70 countries from its 45 operating facilities. Abitibi-Consolidated isamong the largest recyclers of newspapers and magazines in North America,diverting annually approximately 1.7 million tonnes of paper from landfills,and is an industry leader in Canada in terms of forest certification.

About Bowater Incorporated

Bowater is a leading producer of coated and specialty papers andnewsprint. In addition, the company sells bleached market pulp and lumberproducts. Bowater has 12 pulp and paper mills in the United States, Canada andSouth Korea. In North America, it also operates one converting facility andowns 9 sawmills. Bowater's operations are supported by approximately708,000 acres of timberlands owned or leased in the United States and Canadaand 28 million acres of timber cutting rights in Canada. Bowater operates sixrecycling plants and is one of the world's largest consumers of recyclednewspapers and magazines.

    Forward-Looking Statements    --------------------------

The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differmaterially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements: the riskthat the businesses will not be integrated successfully; the risk that thecost savings and other expected synergies from the combination may not befully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; difficultyaccessing the capital markets on terms favorable to the new company andrefinancing the new company's debt as it comes due and disruption from thecombination making it more difficult to maintain relationships with customers,employees or suppliers. Additional factors that could causeAbitibi-Consolidated's and Bowater's results to differ materially from thosedescribed in the forward-looking statements can be found in the periodicreports filed by Abitibi-Consolidated and Bowater with the SEC and theCanadian securities regulatory authorities and available at the SEC's internetsite () and on SEDAR (). NeitherAbitibi-Consolidated nor Bowater undertakes and each specifically disclaims,any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether asa result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

For further information

Parties interested in the Snowflake mill andrelated assets should contact directly: Jeff Drummond, Managing Director,Scotia Capital Inc., (514) 287-3630
Investors: Francesco Alessi,Vice-President, Investor Relations and Taxation, Abitibi-Consolidated, (514)394-2341, falessi@abitibiconsolidated.com
Investors: Duane A. Owens, VicePresident and Treasurer, Bowater, (864) 282-9488
Media: Seth Kursman, VicePresident, Communications and Government Affairs Abitibi-Consolidated, (514)394-2398, seth_kursman@abitibiconsolidated.com
Media: Kathleen M. Bennett,Vice President - Government Affairs, Communications and Environment, Bowater,(864) 282-9452,