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Willamette to sell to Weyerhaeuser
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January 21, 2002: 6:55 p.m. ET
Company calls off GP talks, reaches $6.1B cash deal in principle to sell.
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Willamette Industries agreed Monday in principle to sell the company to frequently spurned suitor Weyerhaeuser Co. for a sweetened $6.1 billion in cash.
Portland, Ore.-based Willamette (WLL: up $1.09 to $47.10, Research, Estimates) will consider the $55.50 a share bid at a board meeting expected later this month.
The offer is subject to negotiations of a definitive merger agreement and the approval of both company boards, Willamette said.
Willamette also said that negotiations to buy the building products unit of Georgia-Pacific Corp. have ended.
Federal Way, Wash.-based Weyerhaeuser (WY: up $0.18 to $51.51, Research, Estimates) boosted its offer to $55.50 a share from $55 a share.
Weyerhaeuser said in a statement "to ensure that Willamette shareholders receive their money promptly, assuming a definitive agreement is reached, Weyerhaeuser expects to accelerate the closing of its outstanding tender offer."
The current tender offer is scheduled to expire on Feb. 27.
Willamette has consistently spurned Weyerhaeuser's overtures since before November 2000, when Weyerhaeuser placed its first hostile bid of $48 per Willamette share. Weyerhaeuser then raised its bid to $50 per share over the summer and then again in early December to $55 per share, only to see Willamette turn to a plan to buy the Georgia-Pacific unit.
Earlier this month, Weyerhaeuser said roughly 70 million, or 64 percent, of Willamette shares were tendered and not withdrawn in support of the $55-a-share cash offer.
Weyerhaeuser had said it would withdraw its offer if Willamette entered an agreement to purchase the Georgia-Pacific (GP: down $0.64 to $23.36, Research, Estimates) unit. 
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