|
LP sells redwood forest
|
 |
May 4, 1998: 10:24 a.m. ET
$615 million sale of timber business extends Louisiana-Pacific restructuring
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Building materials manufacturer Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (LP) said Monday it will sell the bulk of its Californian forestry assets to a consortium consisting of Simpson Investment Co. and Sansome Partners for approximately $615 million.
The assets include more than 300,000 acres of redwood timberland, three sawmills and two distribution facilities. The buyers "had no interest" in the Samoa pulp mill, so it will be run by LP until a suitable bidder is found, the company said.
LP said that although the properties are good regional businesses, they don't fit the company's strategy of becoming the leading national supplier of building products.
"The financial and managerial resources freed up by this sale will allow us to rapidly advance our goals," said Mark Suwyn, LP chairman and CEO.
LP announced a comprehensive divestiture and restructuring plan in October aimed at tightening the company's focus on its core businesses of building products. Including the California properties sold to Simpson and Sansome, total proceeds from the divestitures to date have reached $750 million.
Based in Seattle, privately-held Simpson Investment Co. owns 790,000 acres of timberland through its subsidiaries Simpson Timber Co. and Simpson Paper Co.
Sansome Partners is a private San Francisco-based investment firm specializing in long-term investments. It has formed Mendocino Redwood Co. to operate the businesses acquired from LP.
The deal is expected to close in late June, subject to regulatory approval.
LP stock (LPX) was up 1/16 at 21-5/8 in morning trading. For a chart of the stock's movements in the last year, click here. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Louisiana Pacific
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNNmoney
|
|
|
|
 |
|
