Bear Island Announces Proposed Private Offering of Notes by Parent Company.

GREENWICH, Conn. -- Bear Island Paper Company, L.L.C. (the "Company") announced today that, in connection with a previously announced restructuring of its parent Brant-Allen Industries, Inc. ("Brant-Allen"), an intermediate parent of the Company, White Birch Paper Company, a Nova Scotia unlimited liability company ("White Birch"), proposes, subject to market and other customary conditions, to commence a private offering of two series of senior notes in an aggregate principal amount of $400 million, consisting of fixed rate senior notes due 2015 and floating rate senior notes due 2012. White Birch intends to use the net proceeds of the offering, along with cash on hand and borrowings under its new revolving credit facility, if any, to repay the outstanding indebtedness of Brant-Allen Industries and certain of its affiliates, including the Company's outstanding 10% senior secured notes due 2007, to purchase the equity interests of certain of Brant-Allen's equity partners and for general corporate purposes. Following the offering, the Company will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of White Birch and a guarantor of the notes. The Company can give no assurance that the proposed offering of the notes will be completed.

The notes will be offered in the United States only to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, and outside the United States pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933. The notes to be offered have not been and may not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the notes.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws relating to the plans of White Birch Paper Company, the Company's intermediate parent following the restructuring, to offer the notes and consummate the offering, the anticipated terms of the notes and the anticipated use of proceeds of the offering. These statements are based upon the current expectations and beliefs of the Company's management and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-look statements. These risks and uncertainties include market conditions and other factors beyond the Company's control and the risk factors and other cautionary statements discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.