Weyerhaeusers hostile bid for rival Willamette looks set to gain pace, with the news that one of Willamettes main shareholders is prepared to tender his deceased fathers stake and is pushing for the two sides to meet to discuss a merger agreement (PrintWeek, 24 August).

Shares in Willamette jumped by over 5% on the announcement that Richard Clark, son of the late Willamette board member Maurice Clark, had sent a letter to both parties detailing his willingness to tender the family shares at 37 ($55) per share in support of the merger.

Clark said he still believed Weyerhaeusers 34 per share offer "seriously undervalues" the company, and that he would not tender his shares at less than 37 each.

At the time of Willamettes annual general meeting this year, in June, the Clark family held a 7.4% stake in the company, or some 8.2m shares.

Willamette has been fighting off Weyerhaeusers hostile moves since late last year, when Weyerhaeuser chairman, president and chief executive Steven Rogel, launched a 4.8bn bid for his former employer and the companys arch rival.

* Weyerhaeuser will report a non-recurring after-tax charge of 13.5m for costs associated with the permanent closure of two machines.

The company said it would close a linerboard machine at its Springfield, Oregon plant and a fine paper machine and paper sheeter in Longview, Washington, due to "weak market conditions".

The group suffered a 23m fall in net earnings for the second quarter of 2001, after taking 410,000 tonnes of downtime in that period (PrintWeek, 3 August).

Weyerhaeuser will report its third-quarter earnings on 23 October.

Story by Andy Scott