Weyerhaeuser Company (WY)

[Enterprising Investor]

Weyerhaeuser to Split Off Home-building Unit (5/12/14)

Timber conglomerate Weyerhaeuser Co. (WY) said Monday that it intends to split off its home-building unit in connection with its plan to merge the operations with a unit of TRI Pointe Homes Inc. (TPH).

The Washington real-estate company disclosed plans in November to merge its real-estate company with the TRI Pointe unit in a so-called Reverse Morris Trust transaction.

It said at that time that the deal would be set up as either a split-off, where shareholders could elect whether to exchange their Weyerhaeuser shares for shares in the real-estate company, or as a spinoff where all Weyerhaeuser shareholders would participate.

The terms of the exchange are yet to be disclosed.

Weyerhaeuser's increased focus on its core wood-products division has been paying off as the housing market rebounds. Last quarter, the company reported stronger earnings as sales increased despite severe winter weather. Timberlands business sales jumped 29% driven by higher prices for western logs.

The company's stock, down 3.38% over the past 12 months, was up 43 cents to $30.46 in recent after-hours trading Monday.

Write to Maria Armental at [e-mail]