Debtor’s Averment 21 (Page 7)
AbitibiBowater’s involvement in the Province dates back to January 7, 1905, when its predecessor the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company, Limited (hereinafter “ANDC”) was incorporated as a Newfoundland corporation. ANDC was incorporated with a listed capital of CDN $5 million, a vast sum at the turn of the 20th century, equivalent to approximately US $100 million in today’s currency. Its formation was the result of a confluence of events and forces. The colonial Government of Newfoundland was determined to attract industrial enterprises to the island, to expand the region’s economic base as its fishery industry collapsed and in the wake of a major fire causing losses above CDN $20 million. Newfoundland heavily promoted its development efforts in the United Kingdom, eventually catching the attention of the Harmsworth Brothers, publishers of the Daily Mail and several other leading newspapers. Traditionally, the Harmsworths had obtained pulp and newsprint from Scandinavia, but increasing worries about German expansionism led them to look westward to North America for alternative supplies.
Conclusion: Over the last the century, the Debtor has invested billions of dollars in terms of today’s currency ($100 million just in this case).
'Courts of bankruptcy are essentially courts of equity, and their proceedings inherently are proceedings in equity.'
