Interfor gets go-ahead on Pope & Talbot mill deal

(Figures in U.S. dollars)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan 7 (Reuters) - International Forest Products Ltd (IFPa.TO) won court approval to buy three sawmills from struggling rival Pope & Talbot on Monday, but immediately said it plans to sell one of them.

Interfor agreed in November to pay $69 million plus working capital for the mills in Castlegar and Grand Forks, British Columbia, and Spearfish, South Dakota, from Pope & Talbot PTBT.PK, which is under creditor protection.

A deal has been reached to sell the Spearfish mill to Neiman Enterprises Inc, a family owned company in Hulett, Wyoming, for $14 million plus working capital, Interfor said in a statement.

Interfor's current operations are all based in British Columbia and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

Interfor said the mill purchase is still awaiting some regulatory approval, but it expects the transaction to close by the end of March. (Reporting by Allan Dowd, Editing by Rob Wilson)