Weyerhaeuser Raises Bid for Willamette

Weyerhaeuser Co. raised its offer to acquire rival timber company Willamette Inc. to $6.05 billion, in a last-ditch attempt to head off Willamette’s efforts to quash the deal by buying a Georgia-Pacific Corp. unit.

The $55-per-share, all-cash bid--up from the previous $50 offer--comes three days after Willamette’s board authorized negotiations to buy Georgia-Pacific’s building products unit, a move widely viewed as an attempt to thwart Weyerhaeuser’s hostile advances.

In a letter to Willamette’s board, Weyerhaeuser Chief Executive Steven Rogel said the revised proposal was his firm’s “best and final offer.”

Any deal with Georgia-Pacific, Rogel said, would force Federal Way, Wash.-based Weyerhaeuser to withdraw its bid.

Willamette shares jumped $3.25 to close at $48.75, while Weyerhaeuser fell 36 cents to $52.50 and Georgia Pacific lost 45 cents to $28.30, all on the NYSE.