Boise Sheds All Forest Products Operations

In its ongoing effort to transform itself into OfficeMax, Boise Cascade Corp., Boise, Id., is selling $3.7 billion of assets to Chicago, Il.-based equity group Madison Dearborn Partners.

The sale includes 22 wood products plants in the U.S., Canada and Braztl, 27 wholesale building material distribution centers in the U.S.. ownership or control of 2.3 million acres of timberland, five pulp and paper mills, two paper-converting plants, six paper-related distribution centers, and five corrugated-container plants.

The new company, Boise Cascade LLC, will be based in Boise and headed by former MacMillan Bloedel Ltd. president Thomas Stephens.

Once the sale is finalized, which is expected to occur by mid-November, Boise Cascade Corp. will change its name to OfficeMax Inc. and relocate its headquarters to Itasca, Il. George Harad, Boise's chairman and c.e.o., will become chairman, and Chris

CrownPacific Sells Mills To Interfor

Crown Pacific Partners. Portland. Or., has agreed to sell its sawmills in Gilchrist, Or., and Marysville and Port Angeles, Wa., to International Forest Products, Vancouver, B.C., for $73.3 million.

The deal for $57.3 million plus working capital estimated at $16 million is awaiting approval from the U.S. Bankrutcy court. Crown Pacific has been in bankruptcy protection since June 2003.

The mills' acquisition would increase Interfor's total lumber capacity to approximately 1.3 billion board feet per year.

In addition. Crown Pacific completed the sale of its Alliance Lumber yard in Sparks, Nv., to Reno Lumber.

Reno Lumber is a new company owned by Donald "Buck" S. Yaeger (who founded Reno Lumber Services in 1995 as a division of Desert Lumber, Las Vegas), Philip D. Griffith and Terrance W. Oliver.

The company's focus is on whole- sale lumber sales, supplying lumber, timbers, siding, structural panels and engineered wood products to framing contractors and homebuilders in Northern Nevada and California.

Milliken will become c.e.o.

"The transaction will complete Boise's transformation from a predominantly manufacturing-based company to a world-scale distribution company," Harad said.

Analysts began speculating that Boise would abandon the cyclical lumber business as soon as the company announced plans last year to acquire the office products retail chain for $1.1 billion.

Yaeger serves as Reno Lumber president and c.e.o., Griffith is treasurer, and Oliver board chairman.

With buyers identified for its manufacturing and distribution operations, Crown Pacific is now left with 524,OOO acres of timberland in Oregon and Washington. Spokesman John Mangan said the firm has not yet decided if it will sell the land.