Shareholders Decide Willamette's Fate

Willamette Industries' board of directors is urging shareholders to reject rival Weyerhaeuser's $5.3 billion hostile takeover bid.

"Our board's position remains clear and unanimous: Willamette is not for sale," stated president and ceo Duane McDougal l, char acterizing Weyerhaeuser's $48-per-share offer as "nothing more than an opportunistic attempt to acquire one of the industry's leading franchises when stock prices in the industry are depressed."

Willamette shareholders had until Jan. 4 to accept the offer. Most of the stock is held by mutual fund companies, pension plans, company insiders and prominent lumber families. Some hope to preserve Willamette as an independent operation, but others have

"We fought a good fight," said chairman, president and ceo Herb Zarkin. "However, in comparing the trends in the HomeBase business with indicated they are open to offers.

Chairman William Swindells is a member of one of Willamette's founding families which control 5.9 million shares-or 5.37o of the company. Other executives and directors hold2.27 million shares, or about2Vo.

As a backup plan, Weyerhaeuser intends to infiltrate Willamette's board. Their four candidates include three retired Weyerhaeuser executives-John Creighton Jr., Thomas Luthy and Robert Lane-plus Evelyn Cruz Sroufe, ex-Visio Corp.

Even if Weyerhaeuser's proxy fight is successful and four directors are replaced, presumably at Willamette's annual shareholders meeting in April, it still may fall short of a majority on the lO-member board.

In early December, HomeBase launched liquidation sales at 3l locations-mostly in Southern California, where three of its five prototype House2Home stores opened. After ll-week sales, 13 of the stores will permanently close and the other l8 will reopen in the spring as House2Homes.

To be converted are North Hollywood, Norwalk, Canoga Park, Glendora, Lancaster, Montclair, Simi Valley, Brea, Irvine, Laguna Niguel, Stanton, Santa Ana, Norco, Oxnard, San Bernardino, Santa Maria, South Bakersfield and Victorville, Ca.

Permanently closing are El Monte, Gardena, Hawaiian Gardens, Los Angeles (Slauson Ave.), Industry, Inglewood, Long Beach, Pomona, El Centro, Bakersfield, Moreno Valley and Riverside, Ca., plus Las Vegas, Nv. Some of the locations to be abandoned have leases that are about to expire; others will be put up for sale.

In other regions, stores will be converted throughout the year in eight phases.

There are a lot of good reasons for carrying L-P Solid Start' products: wide variety, a limited lifetime warranty and the fact that they build great homes.

Full line now available in stock: o LPI'20 and 32 series l-joists (solid sawn flanged)

. CTR* 150 and 250 series l-joists (Gang-Lam" LVL flanged) o LPI 36 and 56 series l-joists (Gang-Lam LVL flanged) o Gang-Lam 2650 Fb and 2950 Fb beams in standard and billet thicknesses (1-314" to 7" thick) o Solid Start rim board

For more information, including a copy of our warranty, contact Huff Lumber.

800-347-4833