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COMPANIES & FINANCE INTERNATIONAL: Weyerhaeuser smells victory at
Willamette
Financial Times; Jun 8, 2001 By SCOTT MORRISON Weyerhaeuser, the US forest products group, said yesterday it seemed to have won its battle for representation on rival Willamette's board, increasing the chances of success for Weyerhaeuser's USDollars 7.2bn hostile bid. However, Willamette, which has fiercely resisted the takeover, said the vote was too close to call and the results would not be known for two to three weeks. The shareholder vote, held at Willamette's annual meeting, was seen as a crucial test of shareholder support for Weyerhaeuser's bid. The group has said it would walk away from the offer if it did not gain a foothold on Willamette's board. Yesterday, however, Weyerhaeuser said that based on the number of proxies it had submitted to an independent election agency, it appeared that Willamette shareholders had elected the three director candidates nominated by Weyerhaeuser. Observers noted that while Weyerhaeuser had submitted a certain number of proxies, the company could not know how many proxies submitted by Willamette might invalidate those provided by the other. Weyerhaeuser has offered USDollars 5.5bn in cash as well as USDollars 1.7bn in assumed debt. Willamette has said it is not for sale, but officials have acknowledged they could negotiate if Weyerhaeuser raised its Dollars 50 per share offer. Weyerhaeuser yesterday extended its offer until June 28, and said that as of Wednesday evening, Willamette shareholders had tendered and not withdrawn about 31m shares, or about 27 per cent of the group's outstanding shares. That appears to mark the lowest level of support for Weyerhaeuser's bid since the offer was first made in November. For many observers, the nasty battle is a classic case of a company using US takeover laws to protect its independence, at the expense of its shareholders' interests. Gary Lutin, a former investment banker who has been trying to bring both companies together, said the close results indicate that neither company offered an alternative that provided clear benefits to shareholders. "The board, whoever they now are, need to focus on shareholder benefits rather than pride," he said. But Steven Rogel, the Weyerhaeuser chief executive who held the same position at Willamette, said he was confident the results would show that Willamette shareholders want an agreed transaction. Weyerhaeuser reiterated that it was willing to increase its offer if Willamette agreed to negotiate. Copyright: The Financial Times Limited |