SunOpta Announces Opta Minerals Acquires Shares of Babco Industrial Corp.

The addition of Babco further increases Opta's position in the mill and foundry business and further expands its current position as a key service provider to the North American steel industry.

Feb 14 2012 --- SunOpta Inc. announced that Opta Minerals Inc. has acquired all of the outstanding common shares of Babco Industrial Corp. located in Regina, Saskatchewan. SunOpta owns approximately 66.4% of Opta's outstanding common shares and approximately 64% on a fully-diluted basis.

Babco is a profitable industrial processor and supplier of petroleum coke ("pet coke"), synthetic slag, ladle sand and crushed graphite. This acquisition complements Opta's existing product portfolio and provides for additional product line offerings to new and existing customers in the region. The Babco facility has capacity for further growth and expansion and is strategically located in proximity to its key vendors and customers.

As consideration for the acquisition of the Babco shares, Opta paid approximately $17.6 million in cash on closing, subject to customary post-closing purchase price adjustments, and is obligated to pay up to an additional $1.3 million in cash pursuant to a contingent five year earn-out if the acquired business achieves certain future EBITDA targets.  The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to both Opta's and SunOpta's earnings.

Babco employs approximately 25 people and is technologically advanced with respect to product and manufacturing techniques which may be leveraged at other Opta facilities.  The addition of Babco further increases Opta's position in the mill and foundry business and further expands its current position as a key service provider to the North American steel industry.

David Kruse, President and CEO of Opta, commented, "We are very pleased to have completed this transaction.  Babco is a great strategic fit and will be easily integrated with our other mill and foundry businesses, further expanding our geographic reach and customers serviced within Canada and the United States.  We welcome the employees of Babco to the Opta Minerals team."

Steve Bromley, President and CEO of SunOpta, commented, "We are very pleased with Opta's acquisition of Babco, a profitable and strategic operation that will expand the company's existing mill and foundry business.  As we noted in our December 22, 2011 press release, the suspension of the strategic review process by the board of directors of Opta was due in part to the belief that a number of near-term growth opportunities, when completed, would increase Opta's overall value. In late 2011, Opta completed the acquisition of Inland RC, LLC, a supplier to the mill and foundry industry located in Cleveland, Ohio, and now the acquisition of Babco.  We are confident that this acquisition combined with other initiatives should result in increased shareholder value in Opta and we will continue to assess options for the Opta business in the future