Arkansas' Deltic Timber said Monday that it will combine with Spokane, Wash.-based Potlatch Corporation in an all-stock deal to create a "leading domestic timberland owner and top-tier lumber manufacturer."
The new company will be called PotlatchDeltic Corporation, and it will have a total enterprise value of more than $4 billion and more than 1,500 employees, according to a statement released Monday by the El Dorado-based company.
The two companies will have a combined 2 million acres of timberland with more than half of that in the southern region, the statement noted.
The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2018.
Robert C. Nolan, chairman of Deltic Timber, said in the statement that the company's board is "extremely pleased" with the move, adding it "offers the best path toward achieving our shared goals."
John Enlow, president and CEO of Deltic Timber, said in the statement the partnership "not only maximizes value for our stockholders but also provides them with the opportunity to participate in the significant upside potential of this combination."
"Furthermore, uniting our high-quality assets, including our deeply talented and dedicated employees, will greatly enhance the potential of PotlatchDeltic," he added. "We look forward to working together to ensure a seamless transition and capitalize on the robust opportunities for growth and success.”
Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.