(TSX: WFT)
VANCOUVER, Jan. 4 /CNW/ - West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (TSX: WFT) announced today that, further to its news release of November 29, 2006, the United States Federal Trade Commission (the "FTC") has granted early termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (the "HSR Act") with respect to West Fraser's proposed acquisition of 13 sawmills from International Paper Company (NYSE: IP). This ends antitrust review of the proposed transaction by the FTC and the United States Department of Justice, as required under the HSR Act. The transaction, which is subject to customary conditions, is expected to close at the end of the first quarter of 2007.
About West Fraser
Headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., West Fraser is an integrated forest products company that produces lumber, LVL, MDF, plywood, pulp, linerboard, kraft paper and newsprint. The Company currently has 6,900 employees and operations in British Columbia, Alberta and the southern United States. All of West Fraser's managed Canadian woodlands are certified to a third-party and independently-verified sustainable forest management standard, either the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) or Canada's national standard for sustainable forest management (CAN/CSA Z809).