N.B. owes bank $50 million for Atcon

A lawyer for the New Brunswick government says the province will have to pay Scotiabank $50 million and then seek repayment as a creditor of the Atcon group of companies.

Under the terms of a loan guarantee to Atcon, the government will pay the bank as early as this week, John Logan told the Court of Queen's Bench in Miramichi on Monday.

A court-appointed monitor was also expected to report to the court Monday on ways to restructure the Miramichi-based company or sell assets.

Five Atcon companies were placed into receivership on March 1, while another five were placed under creditor protection.

Atcon owes creditors about $250 million.

The company's main lender, Scotiabank, called in its loans on Feb. 25.

Last year, the New Brunswick government extended three different loan guarantees to Atcon worth a combined $50 million.