Potlatch To Buy Anderson-Tully

Potlatch Corp., Spokane, Wa., has agreed to purchase Anderson-Tully Co.'s two hardwood sawmills and hardwood veneer plant and merge the two companies' southeastern timberlands into a separate publicly traded company.

All of Potlatch's 514,000 acres of primarily softwood timberlands in Arkansas will be combined with all of ATCO's 324,000 acres of primarily hardwood timberlands in Arkansas and Mississippi.

Funded primarily by a proposed initial public offering of common stock, Timberland Growth Corp. would be the first publicly traded real estate investment trust focused on the ownership of timberlands.

Potlatch will pay approximately $60 million for ATCO's mills. while

TGC will acquire ATCO's timberlands through a cash merger for approximately $410 million.

Potlatch will purchase all of the timber from TGC's timberlands at fair market value prices. Although Potlatch expects to own a majority interest in TGC, most of the new company's directors will be unaffiliated with Potlatch.

The deal is anticipated to close in second quarter 1998.

Founded in 1889, Memphis, Tn.based ATCO has operations in Memphis and Vicksburg, Ms. It will continue operating as the AndersonTully division of Potlatch, according to Bob Fant.

Potlatch's only current hardwood operation is in Warren, Ar.

Itochu Acquiring PrimeSource

Itochu Building Products Co., Inc. has agreed to purchase PrimeSource Inc., Carrollton, Tx., and subsidiary PrimeSource Building Products.

PrimeSource management is expected to remain substantially in place after the $200 million deal closes this month.

Itochu had 1997 sales of $120 million from 1l DCs and ttree packaging plants. PrimeSource, with 34 DCs, nine packaging plants and one nail mill, had sales of $530 million. Overlapping DCs in Southern California, New Orleans, Detroit and Chicago. likely will be consolidated.

Tokyo-based Itochu Corp. is one of the world's largest multi-national companies with over $120 billion in annual sales, while New York Citybased subsidiary Itochu International Inc., the parent of IBP, has interests in over 100 firms in North America.

Manager Nails $1 Million Kick

The co-manager of Lowe's, Dalton, Ga., was back at work four days after winning $l million during a halftime stunt at the football Pro Bowl in Honolulu, Hi.

A former high school punter, Dennis Crawford, 32, kicked a 35-yard field goal between halves of the National Football League's annual allstar game.

He was one of four finalists selected randomly from over 500,000 entries in the Hershey's $1 Million Kick contest, then he won a kickoff in Miami, Fl., by making field goals of 10, 20 and 30 yards.

Crawford will use the winnings for bills and investrnents.