UPDATE 1-Clearwater Paper sees Q3 sales up 4-9 pct

* Sees Q3 sales $345-$360 mln vs est of $351.3 mln

* Sees Q3 adj EBITDA comparable to last year

Oct 12 (Reuters) - Clearwater Paper (CLW.N), which is buying Cellu Tissue Holdings Inc CLU.N, said third-quarter sales likely rose 4-9 percent and earnings were expected to be flat from a year ago.

The tissue and paperboard products company, announcing preliminary third-quarter results, said sales were $345-$360 million, versus $331.5 million. Two analysts currently expect Clearwater to report sales of $351.3 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company also said adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the July-September period were comparable to the year-ago number.

Clearwater had reported EBITDA of $42.1 million in last year's third quarter, and analysts expect it to report an EBITDA of $43.9 million for the latest third quarter.

Last month, Clearwater had agreed to buy debt-laden Cellu Tissue for about $247 million, to expand into eastern United States. [ID:nSGE68F0I4]

Shares of the company, which have almost tripled from a May year-low, and have risen 10 percent since the Cellu Tissue deal, closed at $79.2 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Adveith Nair in Bangalore; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)