Weyerhaeuser Co., a U.S. real-estate investment trust that produces timber, agreed to buy Longview Timber LLC for $2.65 billion including debt from affiliates of Brookfield Asset Management Inc. to boost its timberland acreage in the Pacific Northwest.
Weyerhaeuser said the deal will close in July and immediately add to its funds for distribution. It plans to boost its quarterly cash dividend to 22 cents a share in September from 20 cents, the Federal Way, Washington-based company said Sunday in a statement.
The deal gives Weyerhaeuser about 645,000 acres (261,022 hectares) of timberlands in Washington and Oregon. The company said the acquisition will increase its acreage in the Pacific Northwest by 33 percent to about 2.6 million acres and boost the timberland in the U.S. that it owns or controls to about 6.6 million acres.
Weyerhaeuser said it plans to finance the deal by raising about $2.45 billion through selling a combination of debt and equity and has a committed unsecured bridge loan facility with Morgan Stanley.
The company also named Doyle Simons chief executive officer effective Aug. 1, replacing Dan Fulton, who will retire this year.
The company said Sunday in a separate statement that it’s looking at options including a sale or spinoff for its Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Co. homebuilding and real estate development business.