***********************************************
WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
Weyerhaeuser
Acquires Canadian Timber Company, Clayoquot & Elsewhere
at Risk
***********************************************
Forest
Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises
http://forests.org/ -- Forest
Conservation Archives
http://forests.org/web/ -- Discuss Forest
Conservation
6/21/99
OVERVIEW
& COMMENTARY by EE
My, my,
how fast things change. Nary a day
after thinking the
Clayoquot
Sound area had at least a chance of slowing the destruction
(
http://forests.org/recent/clatruce.txt ), Weyerhaeuser has bought
out
MacMillan Bloedel, the area's developer, which had just indicated
it
would phase out clear-cut logging in old growth forests. Now this
entire
agreement is at risk. This should be
viewed as a companion
article
to what went out two days ago, and shows how fast community
organizing
can be squelched by corporate finance. Following are two
articles
on the matter--the first some sugar coated industry
propaganda
about the deal and the second, Rainforest Action Network's
throwing
down the gauntlet. Weyerhaueser, honor
the agreement, or
face
"blockades, protests and high profile demonstrations the likes of
which
haven't been seen in decades."
g.b.
*******************************
RELAYED
TEXT STARTS HERE:
ITEM#1
Title: Weyerhaeuser Company to Acquire MacMillan
Bloedel Limited
Source: Business Wire
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for
permission to reprint
Date: June 21, 1999
FEDERAL
WAY, Wash./VANCOUVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 21, 1999-- US$2.45
Billion
Stock Transaction
Creates
the Leading North American Forest Products Company Two of
North
America's largest forest products companies today announced that
they
have reached an agreement for Weyerhaeuser Company to acquire
MacMillan
Bloedel Limited in a stock transaction valued at
approximately
US$2.45 billion (CN$3.59 billion) based on Friday's
closing
prices of both stocks.
Once
the transaction is complete, Weyerhaeuser will become a company
with
annual sales of approximately $13.3 billion (CN$19.5 billion) and
a
market capitalization of approximately $16.5 billion (CN$24.2
billion)
based on Friday's closing price.
Already
the world's largest producer of softwood lumber and market
pulp,
and the second largest manufacturer of oriented strand board
(OSB),
the agreement makes Weyerhaeuser one of the top three producers
of
packaging solutions.
"This
is an excellent strategic combination for Weyerhaeuser and its
shareholders,"
said Steven R. Rogel, Weyerhaeuser chairman, president
and
chief executive officer. "We have been impressed by the action
taken
by MacMillan Bloedel's management to improve their operations
and the
positive way in which their employees have responded. We are
acquiring
modern and well-maintained manufacturing facilities
throughout
Canada and the United States that fit naturally with our
operations,
plus we add some of the highest quality timberlands in
Canada
and the Southern U.S. to our portfolio. These additions will
have an
immediate positive effect on our earnings."
"We
believe that this combination will create the powerhouse in the
industry,"
said Tom Stephens, MacMillan Bloedel president and chief
executive
officer. "While we were not seeking a merger of this nature,
the
terms of this agreement provide an attractive premium to our
shareholders,
plus the opportunity to maintain an interest in the
clear
leader in the business. The value created for MacMillan Bloedel
shareholders
is a reflection of the benefits of the restructuring and
transformation
program underway over the last 18 months. It's a
resounding
tribute to the hard work and dedication of all MacMillan
Bloedel
employees."
The
boards of both companies unanimously have approved an agreement
that
provides MacMillan Bloedel shareholders with 0.28 shares of
common
stock in Weyerhaeuser, or 0.28 equivalent exchangeable shares
in a
new Weyerhaeuser Canadian subsidiary, for each MacMillan Bloedel
share
owned. The exchangeable shares will be issued to Canadian
residents
who elect to receive such shares and will be exchangeable,
on a
share-for-share basis, for Weyerhaeuser Company common stock.
Weyerhaeuser
intends to account for the transaction as a pooling of
interest.
Weyerhaeuser
expects to realize approximately US$150 million (CN$219
million)
in annual benefits through savings in transportation and
distribution,
improving purchasing practices, increasing the balance
in its
manufacturing system and streamlining operations.
Expected
to close this fall, the transaction is subject to normal
regulatory
approvals in the United States and Canada and court
approval
in Canada. The transaction also requires a favorable vote by
MacMillan
Bloedel shareholders.
This
transaction adds a significant new chapter to Weyerhaeuser's
history
as a leading North American company. It has a history of
continuous
growth and investment that spans nearly 100 years in the
United
States and 35 years in Canada. Of its 35,000 North American
employees,
5,900 currently work for Weyerhaeuser Canada, which is
headquartered
in Vancouver. Weyerhaeuser currently owns or manages 5.3
million
acres of timberland throughout the United States and has
timber
licenses on 27 million acres (10.9 million hectares) in Canada.
Its
North American operations produce pulp, paper, packaging, lumber
and
structural panels that are sold around the world.
MacMillan
Bloedel, which also has a long and distinguished history in
North
America, currently employs 9,500 people, with 5,500 in Canada,
and
assets that include: -- Three containerboard mills with an annual
capacity
of 1.1 million tons and 19 converting facilities with an
annual
production capability of 8.2 billion square feet of packaging.
--
Three oriented strand board (OSB) facilities with an annual
capacity
of 1.1 billion square feet (3/8 basis). The new Saskatchewan
OSB
mill, currently under construction, will add 570 million square
feet
(3/8 basis). The agreement also includes two plywood facilities
in
Eastern Canada and one in Alabama. -- Six lumber mills, many
producing
high value specialty lumber from Western Red Cedar and other
specialty
grades in B.C., two sawmills in Ontario, one sawmill in
Saskatchewan
and one in Alabama. -- 6.9 million acres (2.8 million
hectares)
of productive timberlands, of which 427,500 acres (173,000
hectares)
are held in the United States. This includes fee simple
ownership
of approximately 741,300 acres (300,000 hectares) of
forestland.
-- 49 percent ownership of Trus Joist MacMillan
(TJM),
a leading manufacturer of engineered wood products. -- 33
distribution
centers located through the United States and Canada.
"We're
merging with a company that also has been focusing on improving
its
operations to enhance shareholder return and employee safety,"
Rogel
said. "This common focus will allow us to implement this
transaction
without disrupting similar initiatives currently underway
at
Weyerhaeuser. We will continue to pursue improvements during the
transition
process and after the MacMillan Bloedel employees join our
company."
"MacMillan
Bloedel's people will be joining one of the world's most
highly
respected companies that puts a priority on safety and is
strongly
committed to the environment," Stephens said. "Weyerhaeuser's
long
history in Canada, their commitment to the same business and
community
values that we prize most--and their aggressive growth--will
serve
our people, customers, communities and shareholders
exceptionally
well."
Weyerhaeuser
Company (NYSE: WY), one of the world's largest integrated
forest
products companies, was incorporated in 1900. It has offices or
operations
in 12 countries, with customers worldwide. Weyerhaeuser is
principally
engaged in the growing and harvesting of timber; the
manufacture,
distribution and sale of forest products; and real estate
construction,
development and related activities. Additional
information
about Weyerhaeuser's businesses, products or practices is
available
at www.weyerhaeuser.com.
MacMillan
Bloedel (TSE: MB; NASDAQ: MMBL) is one of Canada's largest
forest
products companies with integrated operations in Canada, the
United
States and Mexico. The products of MacMillan Bloedel and its
affiliate
companies are marketed throughout the world and include
lumber,
panelboard, engineered lumber, containerboard and corrugated
containers.
Additional information about MacMillan Bloedel is
available
at www.mbltd.com
This
news release contains statements concerning Weyerhaeuser
Company's
future results and performance, including an estimate of
annual
benefits from Weyerhaeuser's acquisition of MacMillan Bloedel,
that
are forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The accuracy of such
statements
is subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and
assumptions
that may cause actual results to differ materially from
those
projected, including, but not limited to, the effect of general
economic
conditions, including the level of interest rates and housing
starts;
market demand for the company's products; the effect of
forestry,
land use, environmental and other governmental regulations;
the
ability to obtain regulatory and other approvals for the
acquisition;
the ability of Weyerhaeuser to successfully integrate the
two
companies, and the risk of losses from fires, floods and other
natural
disasters. The company is also a large exporter and is
affected
by changes in economic activity in Europe and Asia,
particularly
Japan, and by changes in currency exchange rates and
restrictions
on international trade. These and other factors that
could
cause or contribute to actual results differing materially
from
such forward looking statements are discussed in greater detail
in the
company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. c
CONTACT:
Weyerhaeuser
ITEM#2
Title: ENVIROS CONCERNED AS WEYERHAEUSER PURCHASES
MACMILLAN BLOEDEL
FAILURE TO HONOR MB ENVIRONMENTAL
COMMITMENTS
WILL BRING MARKETPLACE MAYHEM
Source: Rainforest Action Network
For immediate release - June 21, 1999
Press Contact - Mark Westlund:
415/398-4404
Status: Distribute freely with credit given to
source
Date: June 21, 1999
"With
its program of phasing out old growth clear-cuts, MacMillan
Bloedel
brought the world one step closer to ending all logging in the
last
remaining old growth forests. Weyerhaeuser must continue MB's
plans
or suffer the consequences."
-
Christopher Hatch, RAN Campaigns Director
SAN
FRANCISCO - News of Weyerhaeuser's purchase of British Columbia
logging
company MacMillan Bloedel has environmentalists across the US
and
Canada in a state of concerned anticipation.
The sale came just
days
after MB signed a memorandum of understanding with environmental
organizations
and Canadian Indians not to log in pristine forest areas
within
the company's British Columbia holdings.
Last year, MB
instituted
a new logging plan to phase out clear-cut logging in old
growth
forests. Weyerhaeuser has yet to
comment on whether it will
honor
these commitments.
"Weyerhaeuser
is teetering on a precipice," said Rainforest Action
Network
Campaigns Director Christopher Hatch.
"If the company honors
MB's
commitment to lessening the strain on the Earth's last old growth
forests,
it could become the world's leader in ancient forest
preservation. If it doesn't, Weyerhaeuser will have its
market ripped
apart
by blockades, protests and high profile demonstrations the likes
of
which haven't been seen in decades."
"In
a time when only 22 percent of the world's original old growth
forests
remain, continuing logging of old growth wood is simply
barbaric,"
RAN's Hatch concluded. "Whether
you approach the issue
economically,
ecologically or ethically, it's just not a sound
business
practice to cut down old growth forests."
In
December 1998, 27 U.S. corporations - including IBM, Dell, Kinko's,
Nike,
3M, Levi-Strauss, Mitsubishi Motors America, Mitsubishi Electric
America,
and others - announced their commitment to stop selling or
using
old growth wood. Europe's largest home
improvement center, B&Q,
has
nearly completed removing old growth wood from its shelves.
Rainforest
Action Network works to protect the rainforests and their
inhabitants
through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent
direct
action.
__________________________________________
Rainforest
Action Network
221
Pine Stret #500
San
Francisco, CA 94014
Telephone:
415/398-4404; fax: 415/398-2732
Website:
http://www.ran.org
###RELAYED
TEXT ENDS###
This
document is a PHOTOCOPY for educational, personal and non-
commercial
use only. Recipients should seek
permission from the
source
for reprinting. All efforts are made to
provide accurate,
timely
pieces; though ultimate responsibility for verifying all
information
rests with the reader. Check out our
Gaia Forest
Conservation
Archives at URL= http://forests.org/
Networked
by Ecological Enterprises, gbarry@forests.org