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--> --> Weyerhaeuser increases offer to Willamette The company now says it will pay $50 per share in its bid to buy its rival PORTLAND (AP) - Weyerhaeuser Co. increased its offer to buy rival Willamette from $48 per share to $50 per share, but warned that shareholders risk losing value by delaying the attempted merger between the wood products companies. The move increases Weyerhaeuser's hostile bid by $219 million to about $5.5 billion and represents a 44 percent premium over Willamette's share price the day before the deal was announced in November. In a letter to Willamette chairman William Swindells, Weyerhaeuser president and CEO Steven R. Rogel said Weyerhaeuser is "as committed as ever to the proposed transaction." If a deal cannot be reached soon, he said Weyerhauser would seek to have three nominees friendly to the takeover elected to Willamette's board at its June 7 annual meeting. Portland-based Willamette has urged shareholders to reject the Weyerhaeuser-nominated members. Both sides of the hostile takeover have accused the other of trying to mislead shareholders. Weyerhaeuser, based in Federal Way, Wash., said that if the new nominees were elected and Willamette still refused to negotiate, Weyerhaeuser would seek to nominate its own slate of directors at the 2002 annual meeting. On Monday, Rogel warned that delays could cost Willamette shareholders money. "Now is the time to negotiate the highest value for your shareholders," the letter said. "We are increasing our offer today because we want to negotiate a definitive agreement promptly. The price Weyerhaeuser is ultimately willing to pay to acquire Willamette will be negatively affected by any continued delay in negotiating a definitive merger agreement." Weyerhaeuser had given Willamette shareholders a deadline of May 18 to accept the $48 offer. In mid-March, Weyerhaeuser extended that deadline from March 30 and acknowledged that it had pledges from only 29 percent of the nearly 110 million outstanding shares. Shares of Willamette were up 31 cents to $48.96 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange, where shares of Weyerhaeuser were unchanged from Friday at $57.10. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing