Weyerhaueser-Plum Creek merger completed

Weyerhaeuser Co. on Friday announced the completion of its merger with Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc., formally creating the largest timber company in the country.

The announcement came a week after shareholders for the two companies voted in favor the merger, a proposal first unveiled in November 2015.

The combined company owns more than 13 million acres of timberland and operates 38 wood-products manufacturing facilities across the country, including operations in Evergreen and Columbia Falls.

Plum Creek announced last week that most of its approximately 750 employees in Montana would keep their jobs and no mills in the state would close as a result of the merger.

Some accounting, human resources and information-technology positions will be eliminated, however, while others will transfer to the company’s Seattle headquarters.

On Friday, Weyerhaeuser spokesman Anthony Chavez declined to elaborate on what jobs would be eliminated.

“Until today we were operating as two separate companies, and there are still a lot of decisions that have to be made,” Chavez said. “We’re still working through those types of decisions.”

Weyerhaeuser now owns the sawmill, plywood plant and medium-density fiberboard plant in Columbia Falls and the sawmill and plywood plant in Evergreen.

“This is an exciting day for Weyerhaeuser as we bring together the best assets and talent in the industry,” Doyle R. Simons, president and chief executive officer of Weyerhaeuser, said in a news release. “In the coming months, we will be relentlessly focused on creating value for our shareholders by capturing cost synergies, leveraging our scale, sharing best practices, delivering the most value from every acre and driving operational excellence.”

A newly formed 13-person board of directors includes eight directors from the pre-closing Weyerhaeuser board and five directors from the pre-closing Plum Creek board.

Each outstanding share of Plum Creek common stock immediately prior to the merger converted into the right to receive 1.6 common shares of Weyerhaeuser.

Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.