Sino-Forest Initiates Sale Solicitation Process

TORONTO, March 30, 2012 /CNW/ - Sino-Forest Corporation ("Sino-Forest" or the "Company") (TSX:TRE) announced today that a sale solicitation process (the "Sale Process") has been initiated with respect to the assets and operations of the Company and its subsidiaries.

Houlihan Lokey, financial advisor to Sino-Forest has commenced solicitation of interest from prospective strategic or financial parties interested in participating in the Sale Process.

A notice of commencement of the Sale Process (the "Notice") will be published in The Globe & Mail and The Wall Street Journal seeking expressions of interest in connection with a potential sale of substantially all of the assets of the Company.  The Notice was issued pursuant to the terms of a sale process order (the "Sale Process Order") of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (the "Court").  The full text of the Notice is set out below.

TAKE NOTICE THAT pursuant to an order (the "Order") of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (the "Court") issued on March 30, 2012 under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, Sino-Forest Corporation obtained Court approval to conduct a sale solicitation process (the "Sale Process").

Pursuant to the Sale Process, Houlihan Lokey is soliciting proposals from prospective strategic and financial parties to acquire substantially all of the property, assets and business of Sino-Forest Corporation and its subsidiaries, other than certain excluded assets. Sino-Forest Corporation is a leading commercial forest plantation operator in China.  Its principal businesses include the ownership and management of tree plantations, the sale of standing timber and wood logs, and the complementary manufacturing of downstream engineered-wood products. 

The Court also appointed FTI Consulting Canada Inc. as the Monitor of Sino-Forest Corporation and confirmed Houlihan Lokey as its financial advisor.

Interested parties can obtain additional information by contacting Houlihan Lokey at:

Houlihan Lokey
Attention: David Putnam
Telephone: +852.3551.2300
Email: dputnam@hl.com

The timing and procedures governing the Sale Process, the terms of participation of prospective purchasers, and the criteria for the submission, evaluation and selection of bids are set out in the Sales Process Order.  FTI Consulting Canada Inc., the Court-appointed Monitor in the CCAA proceedings, will supervise the Sale Process in accordance with the terms of the Sale Process Order.   For further information, please refer to the Monitor's website at http://cfcanada.fticonsulting.com/sfc.

There can be no assurance that the Sale Process will lead to a transaction, or as to the terms of any such transaction.

About Sino-Forest Corporation

Sino-Forest Corporation is a leading commercial forest plantation operator in China. Its principal businesses include the ownership and management of tree plantations, the sale of standing timber and wood logs, and the complementary manufacturing of downstream engineered-wood products.  Sino-Forest also holds a majority interest in Greenheart Group Limited (HKSE:00094), a Hong-Kong listed investment holding company with assets in Suriname (South America) and New Zealand and involved in sustainable harvesting, processing and sales of its logs and lumber to China and other markets around the world.  Sino-Forest's common shares have been listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TRE since 1995.  Learn more at www.sinoforest.com.