N e w s R e l e a s e For Immediate Release

TSX: FBK

fibrek.com

FIBREK TO VIGOROUSLY DEFEND POSITION AT QUÉBEC COURT OF APPEAL

MONTREAL, March 18, 2012 - Fibrek Inc. ("Fibrek" or the "Company") announced today that the Québec Court of Appeal has granted AbitibiBowater Inc. (doing business as Resolute Forest Products) ("Abitibi") permission to appeal the Court of Québec's decision rendered on March 9, 2012. The Court of Québec's decision reversed the cease trade order issued by the Bureau de décision et de révision (Québec) on Fibrek's private placement (the "Private Placement") of 32,320,000 special warrants to Mercer International Inc. ("Mercer"), thereby allowing the Private Placement to proceed in accordance with the special warrant agreement dated February 9, 2012 subject to the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange. The appeal will be heard on March 22, 2012.

The Board of Directors continues to unanimously recommend that shareholders ACCEPTand TENDERtheir common shares to Mercer's $1.30 offer. The superior Mercer offer represents a 30% premium over Abitibi's unsolicited insider bid and only requires that 50.1% of common shares be tendered, including the common shares issuable upon the exercise of the special warrants.

The Board also recommends that shareholders REJECTand NOT TENDERtheir common shares to Abitibi's unsolicited $1.00 insider bid. According to Abitibi, as of the close of business on March 9, 2012, approximately 60.5 million common shares of Fibrek had been deposited to their insider bid, representing approximately 46.5% of the outstanding common shares. Abitibi's insider bid requires that a minimum of
66 2/3% of common shares be tendered. If shareholders have tendered their shares to the Abitibi insider bid, the Board recommends that they WITHDRAWthem immediately.
The Support Agreement, the Special Warrant Agreement and the Directors' Circular in respect of the
Mercer offer have been filed and are available at www.sedar.comunder the company's profile.
For more information on how to tender Fibrek common shares, for any other inquiries regarding the Mercer offer or on how to withdraw shares tendered to the Abitibi bid, please contact Fibrek's information agent, Phoenix Advisory Partners, at 1-800-398-1129 (North American Toll Free) or via email at inquiries@phoenixadvisorypartners.com.

About Fibrek

Fibrek (TSX: FBK) is a leading producer and marketer of high-quality virgin and recycled kraft pulp. The company operates three mills located in Saint-Félicien, Québec, Fairmont, West Virginia, and in Menominee, Michigan with a combined annual production capacity of 760,000 tonnes. Fibrek has approximately 500 employees. The Saint-Félicien mill provides northern bleached softwood kraft pulp (product known as NBSK pulp) to various sectors of the paper industry mainly in Canada, the United States and Europe, for use in the production of specialized products. The Fairmont and Menominee mills manufacture air-dried recycled bleached kraft pulp (product known as RBK pulp) and primarily supply manufacturers of fine uncoated paper, tissue paper for commercial and industrial uses, and coated paper in the United States.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements can be identified by expressions of belief, expectation or intention, as well as those statements that are not historical facts and include statements concerning Fibrek's future outlook, business strategy, plans, expectations, results or actions, or the assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "may", "should", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "outlook" and similar expressions. These statements are based on information currently available to Fibrek's management and on the current assumptions, intentions, plans, expectations and estimates of Management regarding Fibrek's future growth, results of operations, performance, business prospects and opportunities and ability to attract and retain customers as well as the economic environment in which it operates. Forward- looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results of Fibrek to differ materially from the conclusion, forecast or projection stated in such forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to: actions taken by Abitibi or Mercer, actions taken by shareholders of Fibrek in respect of Abitibi's unsolicited offer and the Mercer Offer, the possible effect of Abitibi's unsolicited offer and the Mercer Offer on Fibrek's business, the award of a power purchase agreement to Fibrek under the new Québec Government cogeneration program, general economic conditions, pulp prices and sales volume, exchange rate fluctuations, cost and supply of wood fibre, wastepaper and other raw materials, pension contributions, competitive markets, dependence upon key customers, increased production capacity, equipment failure, disruptions of production, capital requirements and other factors referenced in Fibrek's continuous disclosure filings which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The completion of the Mercer Offer is subject to a number of terms and conditions. The conditions to the Mercer Offer may not be satisfied in accordance with their terms, and/or Mercer may exercise its termination rights under the support agreement, in which case the Mercer Offer could be terminated. The outcome of the appeal of the Court of Québec's decision may also have an impact on the completion of the Mercer Offer. Failure to complete the Mercer Offer could have a material adverse impact on the market price of Fibrek's shares. Readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and, except as required by applicable securities laws, Fibrek assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.

Information:

Investor Relations: Patsie Ducharme 514 871-0550

Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Media Relations: Lyla Radmanovich 514 843-2336

NATIONAL Public Relations

Dany Paradis 514 871-0550

Vice President, Change Management and Supply Chain

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This press release was issued by Fibrek Inc. and was initially posted at http://www.fibrek.com/static/en/PDF/communiques/2012-03-18_fibrek-court-appeal.pdf . It was distributed, unedited and unaltered, by noodls on 2012-03-19 16:02:53 PM. The issuer is solely responsible for the accuracy of the information contained therein.