West Fraser agrees to sale of Babine and Decker Lake sawmills

Sep 18, 2006. /Lesprom Network/. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. announced on September 15 that it has entered into an agreement for the sale of its 89% interest in the Babine and Decker Lake sawmills and associated timber tenures located near Burns Lake, British Columbia with Hampton Lumber Mills, Inc. of Portland, Oregon. The sawmills have a combined annual capacity of approximately 365 million board feet and the related timber tenures have an annual allowable cut of approximately 450 000 cubic meters. It is anticipated that the sale will close at the end of October of this year. This sale of West Fraser’s interests in the Babine and Decker Lake mills is being made pursuant to a consent agreement dated December 7, 2004 between West Fraser and the Commissioner of Competition in connection with the acquisition on December 31, 2004 of Weldwood of Canada Limited. “It has been very difficult for us to bring to an end a long and mutually beneficial relationship with our business partner BLNDC and the Burns Lake community,” said Hank Ketcham, chairman, president and CEO of West Fraser. “Hampton is a well respected company and we wish them, BLNDC, the employees of Babine and Decker Lake and the Burns Lake community well,” he said. Steve Zika, chief executive officer of Hampton Affiliates, said, “We are excited about this new acquisition and the expansion opportunity it presents our company. The mills are in good condition and we plan to operate the facilities as currently configured with no major change in the employee manning. We are looking forward to working with the Babine and Decker employees, Burns Lake Native Development Corporation, and the local communities. Hampton Affiliates is a family-owned forest products business headquartered in Portland, Oregon, employing 1 500 people in three states. Hampton owns over 167,000 acres of timberland, five sawmills in Oregon and Washington with production capacity of 1.5 billion board feet, and wholesale and distribution operations that will bring total sales to over $1 billion in 2006. The sale of West Fraser’s interests in the Babine and Decker Lake sawmills is subject to the approval of the Commissioner of Competition under the consent agreement as well as customary approvals, filings and conditions. West Fraser is an integrated forest products company that produces lumber, LVL, MDF, plywood, pulp, linerboard, kraft paper and newsprint. The Company has manufacturing operations in British Columbia, Alberta and the southern United States. West Fraser has approximately 6 900 employees and is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. West Fraser shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange.