Champion International Corporation Completes Sale of Deferiet Mill to The Deferiet Paper Company.

STAMFORD, CT--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 11, 1999--

Champion International Corporation (NYSE:CHA) announced today that it has completed the sale of its groundwood specialty mill in Deferiet, New York to The Deferiet Paper Company, a new wholly owned subsidiary of Crabar Paper & Allied Products Corporation. The purchase price was over $34 million. In addition, The Deferiet Paper Company assumed liabilities of over $10 million. The proceeds from this sale will be used for general corporate purposes and to retire debt. New York State's Economic Development Agency, in coordination with State Senator James W. Wright, is assisting The Deferiet Paper Company by committing to provide funds for future infrastructure and environmental improvement projects.

Crabar Paper & Allied Products Corporation, based in Dayton, Ohio, is a privately owned holding company with operations in the Midwest and Southwest United States. The Deferiet mill is located in Jefferson County, New York. The mill currently produces approximately 225,000 tons per year of coated groundwood, uncoated groundwood, supercalendered, and coated freesheet specialty papers for the publishing and wholesale distribution industry.

In October of 1997, Champion announced its intention to divest several non-strategic product segments and facilities, including the Deferiet mill, as part of a three-pronged strategy to maximize total shareholder return by focusing on strategic businesses, increasing productivity, and improving financial discipline. The company sold its newsprint business and Texas recycling centers to Donohue, Inc. in June, 1998, and its ovenable-board business to Tenneco, Inc. in September, 1998. Last month, the company sold the Canton, North Carolina paper mill, an extruding and converting facility in Waynesville, North Carolina, and its DairyPak liquid packaging business to Blue Ridge Paper Products Inc. In addition, Champion has an agreement to sell 300,000 acres of forestlands in the states of New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire to The Conservation Fund. The sale to The Conservation Fund is expected to close during the second quarter.

Champion International Corporation is an integrated forest products company with significant operations in the United States, Canada, and Brazil. Champion is a major producer and distributor of coated and uncoated papers. The company's other products include market pulp, lumber and plywood, and selected paper for packaging. Champion has the responsibility for the sustainable management of more than eleven million acres of forestlands supporting its manufacturing facilities.