BAM!

This mornings news and 558,000 acres shifts hands. Longview is a REIT and Brookfield will apparently continue to manage it as such. Will they keep the mill and container plants?? --Brian

"Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE and TSX:BAM) (“Brookfield”) and Longview Fibre Company (NYSE: LFB) (“Longview”) today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for Brookfield to acquire all the outstanding shares of Longview for cash at a price of US$24.75 per share, for a total transaction value of approximately US$2.15 billion including assumed debt... With this transaction, Brookfield will acquire 588,000 acres of prime, freehold timberlands in Washington and Oregon , the heart of the Pacific Northwest . The high value species, excellent growth rates and significant standing timber inventories make these timberlands among the most valuable in the world. In addition, Brookfield will acquire one of the largest pulp and paper complexes in North America at Longview , Washington , and a network of 15 corrugated container plants located in 12 states.
“Longview Fibre represents an excellent opportunity to acquire one of the largest and highest quality portfolios of freehold timberlands in the U.S. , furthering our strategy of investing in high quality assets that generate long term sustainable cash flows that increase in value over time,” commented Sam Pollock, Managing Partner. “We already manage 2 million acres of timberlands in North and South America, including 635,000 acres on the British Columbia west coast, proximate to Longview's timberlands in the Pacific Northwest. The acquisition of Longview 's timberlands will significantly expand our timberland asset management operations and solidify our position as the fourth largest owner/manager of timberlands in North America by value.”
Read more about it.