Business News
WEYERHAEUSER TO SELL 140,000 ACRES OF NON-STRATEGIC TIMBERLANDS IN OREGON
Friday 14. August 2009 - Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY) today announced it has agreed to sell approximately 140,000 acres of timberlands in northwestern Oregon to an entity affiliated with The Campbell Group LLC for approximately $300 million.
The sale is expected to close in the third quarter of 2009. The transaction is expected to contribute approximately $100 million after-tax to third quarter earnings. The sale represents Weyerhaeusers continued focus on improving financial flexibility and liquidity.
In addition to the Oregon property, the company announced that it will hold discussions with interested buyers to evaluate the sale of up to an additional 82,000 acres in as many as five tracts of land in southwestern Washington state.
The land sold and for sale represent about 10 percent of company holdings in the Pacific Northwest. Nationwide, Weyerhaeuser will continue to own and manage more than 6 million acres of timberlands.
“The land sale represents a strategic re-balancing of our timberlands,” said Dan Fulton, Weyerhaeuser president and CEO. “We have a competitive advantage in growing and processing Douglas fir, and the sale focuses our Western operations on managing that species. While the land sold and for sale is high-quality, productive timberlands, the stands are predominantly hemlock, spruce and species other than Douglas Fir.”
Following the sales, Weyerhaeuser will own or manage nearly 1 million acres of timberland in Oregon and will operate in more than 20 locations across the state. In Washington state, it will own or manage more than 1 million acres of timberland and will operate in more than 20 locations, including its corporate headquarters in Federal Way. Weyerhaeuser employs nearly 6,000 people in the region.
“Trees and land are still the core of our company,” Fulton said. “We continue to be one of the largest private landowners in the Pacific Northwest, and we remain committed to this region for the long term.”