Weyerhaeuser takes over Plum Creek for US$8.4bn

Timber giant Weyerhaeuser is buying its competitor Plum Creek for $8.4 billion to form the largest private owner of timberland in the US and one of the largest worldwide, the Seattle Times reports: The combined company will own more than 13 million acres of timberland in the US North and South – the most prospective in the country, according to Plum Creek-boss Rick Holley. Although it is too early to give any figures at this point, the merger will render some jobs redundant, he and Weyerhaeuser CEO Doyle Simons said in an interview on Sunday.

The combined company will bear the name of Weyerhaeuser and will move its headquarters into a new 150,000 square-foot building next fall. There is also rumors that Weyerhaeuser will sell or spin off its cellulose-fibers business segment, which produced US$ 1.9 billion in sales in 2014.

Analysts have been waiting for consolidation to sweep the timber industry, which saw demand crater after the last housing bust. Many homebuilders went bankrupt. Loggers and haulers left the business, too. And lumber imports from Canada also put pressure on the industry.