Bank of America

Bank of America Business Capital Provides $30 Million Asset-Based Loan To St. Marys Paper

SAULT STE. MARIE, ON - Bank of America Business Capital, one of the world’s largest asset-based lenders, announced today that it provided a $30 million ($35.5 million Canadian) senior secured credit facility to St. Marys Paper Ltd., a specialty paper manufacturer. Consisting of a revolver and a term loan, the facility will be used to refinance existing debt and provide for ongoing working capital needs. Bank of America will also provide letters of credit and foreign exchange products and services. Vancouver-based lead equity sponsor Belgravia Investments Ltd. is majority owner of St. Marys Paper Ltd.

"Bank of America Business Capital structured an asset-based loan that will give us the liquidity to reinvest in our company and grow it in an improving industry environment,” said St. Marys CFO Keith Vancoughnett. “We now have financing with fewer, less restrictive covenants and greater financial flexibility.”

“With extensive experience in the paper industry and our long-standing relationship with Belgravia, we were able to reduce the client’s borrowing costs and deliver the loan in a tight time frame,” said Bank of America Business Capital president James G. Connolly. “The new facility should give St. Marys a stable financial platform and an ability to mitigate its foreign currency risk.”

Located in Sault Ste. Marine, Ontario, St. Marys Paper Ltd. (www.stmarys-paper.com) operates a 240,000 tons per year paper mill producing three grades of specialty paper (Sequel, Synpress and Sequence). The paper is primarily purchased by magazine publishers and large retailers for high quality advertising inserts, flyers and catalogues. Its customers include Walgreens, JC Penny and Target.

Bank of America Business Capital is one of the world’s largest asset-based lenders, with more than 20 offices serving the United States, Canada and Europe. It provides companies with senior secured loans, cash management, risk management and a broad array of capital markets products. Visit www.bofa.com/businesscapitalnews for more information.

Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk-management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving 33 million consumer relationships with 5,700 retail banking offices, more than 16,000 ATMs and award-winning online banking with more than ten million active users. Bank of America is the #1 Small Business Administration lender in the United States. The company serves clients in 150 countries and has relationships with 96 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 82 percent of the Global Fortune 500. Bank of America Corporation stock (ticker: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

August 17, 2004

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