Resolute Announces Share Repurchase Program

MONTREAL, May 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - AbitibiBowater Inc., doing business as Resolute Forest Products (NYSE: ABH) (TSX: ABH), today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to 10% of the Company's common stock for an aggregate purchase price of up to US$100 million. The repurchase program will be funded using the Company's available cash.

"We are taking advantage of our strong financial position to act on an attractive opportunity to return cash to shareholders," said Richard Garneau, President and Chief Executive Officer. "The Company will continue to manage its capital with the utmost discipline, carefully balancing initiatives to return cash to shareholders with other considerations, such as pursuing sound capital investments and opportunities to further increase Resolute's earnings power.  We are committed to enhancing shareholder value in the long term."

The Company is authorized to repurchase from time to time shares of its outstanding common stock on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions in the United States. The timing and amount of stock repurchases will depend on a variety of factors, including the market conditions as well as corporate and regulatory considerations. The share repurchase program may be suspended, modified or discontinued at any time and the Company has no obligation to repurchase any amount of its common stock under the program. The repurchase program has no set expiration date. The company intends to make all repurchases in compliance with applicable regulatory guidelines and to administer the plan in accordance with applicable laws, including Rule 10b-18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

About Resolute Forest Products

Resolute Forest Products is a global leader in the forest products industry with a diverse range of products, including newsprint, commercial printing papers, market pulp and wood products. The Company owns or operates 21 pulp and paper mills and 23 wood products facilities in the United States, Canada and South Korea. Marketing its products in more than 90 countries, Resolute has third-party certified 100% of its managed woodlands to sustainable forest management standards. The shares of Resolute Forest Products, formerly doing business as AbitibiBowater, trade under the stock symbol ABH on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Resolute and other member companies of the Forest Products Association of Canada, as well as a number of environmental organizations, are partners in the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement. The group works to identify solutions to conservation issues that meet the goal of balancing equally the three pillars of sustainability linked to human activities:  environmental, social and economic. Resolute is also a member of the World Wildlife Fund's Climate Savers program, in which businesses establish ambitious targets to voluntarily reduce greenhouse gas emissions and work aggressively toward achieving them.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-looking Information

Statements in this press release that are not reported financial results or other historical information of AbitibiBowater Inc., doing business as Resolute Forest Products, are "forward-looking statements" and may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as the words "should", "would", "could", "will", "may", "expect", "believe", "anticipate", "attempt", "project" and other terms with similar meaning indicating possible future events or potential impact on Resolute's business or shareholders, including Resolute's intention to repurchase shares of its common stock from time to time under its stock repurchase program and the source of funding therefor.

The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are not guarantees of future performance. These statements are based on management's current assumptions, beliefs and expectations, all of which involve a number of business risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause Resolute's plans to differ materially from those expressed or implied in this press release include, but are not limited to, the market price of Resolute's stock prevailing from time to time, the nature of other investment opportunities presented to Resolute, the Company's financial performance and its cash flows from operations, general economic conditions, and all other potential risks and uncertainties set forth under the heading "Risk Factors" in Part I, Item 1A of Resolute's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, filed with the SEC and Resolute's other filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities.

All forward-looking statements in this press release are expressly qualified by the cautionary statements contained or referred to above and in Resolute's other filings with the SEC and the Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Resolute disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

SOURCE RESOLUTE FOREST PRODUCTS