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32 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, January 9, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 23, 2004 Boise Cascade makes record timber sale Firm’s debt targeted as 2.2 million acres sold; local mills will have to go elsewhere for logs By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Boise Cascade is selling 140,000 acres of timberland in Southwest Oregon, mostly in Jackson and Josephine counties, as part of a $1.65 billion package that includes the sale of 2.2 million acres of its timberland. The Boise, Idaho-based firm announced Tuesday that it has reached an agreement with purchaser Forest Capital Partners LLC of Boston. The sale represents the single-largest cash timberland acquisition in history, according to Forest Capital. The sale includes 629,000 acres in Oregon with the remainder in other areas of the Pacific Northwest, and in Louisiana, Alabama and Minnesota. Cash from the sale will be used to reduce the firm’s outstanding debt, said firm spokesman Ralph Poore. The sale is expected to close in the first quarter of next year, he said. Advertisement The lion’s share of the land being sold in Southwest Oregon is in Jackson and Josephine counties, said Bob Smith, human resources manager for the firm in Medford. Locally, the company employs about 900 people, he said. "What this means is that our local mills requiring a log supply will be seeking them from federal or state ownership or private timber land owners," he said, noting the latter includes purchasing raw material from the new owner of the former Boise timberland. Under the sale terms, Boise will enter into a long-term fiber supply agreement with Forest Capital to ensure a continued raw material for its manufacturing facilities, Poore said. The forests will be managed under an industry-approved Sustainable Forestry Initiative, he added. In a prepared statement, Boise CEO Tom Stephens said the agreement will be good for the company "This sale, which is in line with our strategy of rapid debt reduction, will significantly strengthen our balance sheet and allow us to focus on paper, wood products and distribution businesses," he said. He also noted that Forest Capital will be a key supplier to Boise’s sawmills and plywood manufacturing plants. In a joint statement, Scott Jones and Matt Donegan, managing directors for Forest Capital. Forest Capital was described in the statement as an independent investment firm which acquires and manages large-scale, investment-grade forests with a goal of creating investment through expert long-term forestry and progressive forest stewardship. Boise’s Southwest Oregon holidings in Medford and White City include the 455,000-square-foot plywood plant it built in 1999 following a 1998 Labor Day fire that destroyed the Medford plant. Its White City, Boise owns a sawmill, plywood plant, log yard and a laminated veneer plant built in 1990. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Citibank Student Loans Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers