It costs between $240,000 and $400,000 to keep

the mills running for one week.

BANGOR (AP) – The trustee for bankrupt Eastern Pulp and Paper Corp. has filed a notice stating the company’s two mills will be abandoned next week if a buyer or extra funding isn’t found.

Gary Growe filed the three-page notice late Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Portland. The notice says Growe will walk away from all real estate, inventory, receivables and other intangibles on Feb. 18 because the estate doesn’t have the money to maintain the properties past that date.

If the mills are abandoned, they will be foreclosed and creditors will be left to fight in court over the assets.

Growe said he could withdraw the abandonment notice if a prospective buyer makes a legitimate offer that will be approved by a bankrupcty judge. Growe said the offer would have to pay off secured creditors and provide enough extra money to give something to unsecured creditors.

State officials are hopeful that a buyer will step forward to take over Lincoln Pulp and Paper Co. in Lincoln and the Eastern Fine Paper Co. in Brewer. The mills, which employ 750 people at full capacity, shut down in January.

Kurt Adams, legal counsel for Gov. John Baldacci, said the abandonment notice “is a warning signal to lenders” that they have to get moving and help secure a buyer. He said two prospective buyers have submitted term-of-purchase sheets to Eastern Pulp’s lenders and the trustee.

“We’re expecting to shake loose a couple more in the next couple of days,” Adams said.

It costs an estimated $240,000 to $400,000 a week to keep the mills warm and protected from exposure to freezing cold temperatures. The costs cover wages for a skeleton crew, electricity, heating oil, water and other expenses.

Growe, a Bangor attorney, said Wednesday he was able to secure about $260,000 to keep the mills heated through Feb. 18.

ING Group of Phoenix is lending $200,000, while Corsair Special Situations Fund LLP is contributing $50,000 and Congress Financial Corp. is offering $10,000.

Eastern Pulp had been under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors since September 2000.

A bankruptcy judge on Feb. 4 converted the bankruptcy status to Chapter 7, which usually leads to liquidation. At that time, Growe was appointed trustee to manage the estate.

AP-ES-02-12-04 1049EST