April 10, 2008 - 2:40 p.m.

NEW YORK (AP) - Paper and grove products company AbitibiBowater Inc. said Thursday it has completed the $161 million sale of its Snowflake, Ariz.-based newsprint mill to Catalyst Paper Corp.

The sale price excludes about $19 million worth of working capital that AbitibiBowater has retained. The company plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes.

The Snowflake facility has a production capacity of about 375,000 metric tons, or 413,367 tons, of newsprint per year.

The Justice Department required the sale as part of the company's merger last year. AbitibiBowater is the result of U.S. newsprint maker Bowater Inc.'s all-stock acquisition of Canadian forest products company Abitibi-Consolidated LLC.

AbitibiBowater shares gained 56 cents, or 4.7 percent, to $12.41 in afternoon trading. The stock has traded between $4.70 and $37.45 during the past 52 weeks.