Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) shares surged 84.07% to $0.76 after the bell on Wednesday after the company announced Canadian government funding for its Alberta pulp mill.
Ottawa Backs Mill Modernization
Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) committed CAD 20 million (about US$14 million) to Mercer’s subsidiary, Mercer Peace River Pulp Ltd. (MPR), under the Regional Tariff Response Initiative, the company said. The package includes a CAD 1 million (about US$723,091) non-repayable grant and a CAD19 million ($13.76 million) repayable contribution, with repayment set to begin in 2031.
Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada Eleanor Olszewski announced the funding during a visit to MPR’s northern Alberta mill, saying it would help the facility “modernize, compete and protect” regional jobs.
The capital will support mill modernization and productivity upgrades, and prepare the facility for future expansion of bio-energy production and carbon capture and storage, building on an existing CO2 capture demonstration unit already underway at the site.
CEO Juan Carlos Bueno said, “This investment is an important step in the continued modernization of Mercer Peace River.”
The announcement, which was made after the markets closed on Wednesday, caught investors’ attention. The rally in the extended trading session followed an intraday decline of 3.17%, with the stock closing at $0.41, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Trading Metrics, Technical Analysis
Mercer International has a market capitalization of approximately $27.45 million. Its stock has traded between a 52-week high of $3.38 and a 52-week low of $0.40.
MERC has a Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 32.20.
Over the past 12 months, the stock of the global forest products company has fallen 87.29%.
Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicates MERC stock has a negative price trend across all time frames.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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