San Group Assets, Including Port Alberni Sawmills, Up for Sale Amid Creditor Protection

Most of the San Group’s assets—including sawmills and a manufacturing plant in Port Alberni—are going up for sale on Friday, January 17 in a bid to recoup about CA$150 million for creditors under a process led by a court-appointed monitor, The Times Colonist reported (1-17-25). The San Group filed for creditor protection on November 29.

BC Supreme Court Justice Michael Stevens agreed on Thursday to extend the company’s protection from creditors until May 30.

Monitor Deloitte Restructuring Inc., which received court approval to initiate the sales process at a hearing in Vancouver, plans to compile a list of potential bidders and divide the company’s assets into various offerings. This approach aims to maximize value and help satisfy creditors. The plan sets May 30 for agreements with potential purchasers, followed by court approval around June 16, with closing dates scheduled no later than June 30.

The sale will include assets of “every nature and kind,” except for three entities. These include the leased Acorn mill, manufacturing plant, and other facilities in Delta because of an outstanding fire-insurance claim for that site, and other entities because of claims from the Canadian Western Bank, another creditor.

Peter Rubin, the lawyer for the monitor, informed the court that the group appears to owe approximately CA$110 million to Royal Bank of Canada and around CA$40 million to Business Development Bank of Canada. The creditors list numbers in the hundreds.