CalPERS Urges Willamette to Give Up Fight With Weyerhaeuser.Business/News Editors SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 16, 2002 California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) is calling on the board of directors of Willamette Industries to remove barriers that are preventing a tender offer from Weyerhaeuser Company that the pension fund believes is in the best interests of shareowners. In a letter to William Swindells, chairman of the Portland, Oregon-based timber company, CalPERS urged Willamette's board to end its pursuit of Georgia-Pacific Building Products and comply with shareowners' wishes by removing the poison pill A defensive strategy based on issuing special stock that is used to deter aggressors in corporate takeover attempts. The poison pill is a defensive strategy used against corporate takeovers. blocking Weyerhaeuser's tender offer. "Willamette's board is running away from a merger with Weyerhaeuser that is in the best interests of shareowners," said Mark Anson, Chief Investment Officer for the pension fund. "Their ill-considered move to purchase Georgia Georgia, country, Asia Georgia (jôr`jə), Georgian Sakartvelo, Rus. Gruziya, officially Republic of Georgia, republic (2005 est. pop. 4,677,000), c.26,900 sq mi (69,700 sq km), in W Transcaucasia. Pacific Building Products pales in comparison to Weyerhaeuser's bid, which creates long-term Long-term Three or more years. In the context of accounting, more than 1 year. long-term 1. Of or relating to a gain or loss in the value of a security that has been held over a specific length of time. Compare short-term. value." CalPERS owns approximately 482,700 shares of Willamette Industries stock and 868,800 shares of Weyerhaeuser Co. stock. "Even a casual observation of this situation leads to the conclusion that your shareowners are indeed in favor of upon the side of; favorable to; for the advantage of. See also: favor Weyerhaeuser's current offer and have been supportive of their offer for some time," the letter said. Weyerhaeuser, based in Federal Way, Washington Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States. Federal Way is considered a bedroom community by some people and is located between Seattle and Tacoma. Its western boundary is Puget Sound. , first launched an unsolicited un·so·lic·it·ed adj. Not looked for or requested; unsought: an unsolicited manuscript; unsolicited opinions. unsolicited Adjective bid for Willamette 13 months ago. Last month, it raised its tender offer to $55 a share and recently extended that offer to February 27. Recent reports state that approximately 64 percent of Willamette's shareowners have tendered their shares with the hopes of a merger between Willamette and Weyerhaeuser. "We urge the Willamette board not to conclude the proposed transaction with Georgia Pacific, and at the very least, agree to seek shareowners approval for this action," the letter said. "Absent your ability to provide additional meaningful justification for pursuing the Georgia-Pacific assets at all, we urge the Board to comply with your shareowners' wishes and remove the barrier to the Weyerhaeuser tender offer." A copy of CalPERS letter to Willamette can be found on CalPERS Shareowner share·own·er n. See shareholder. Noun 1. shareowner - someone who holds shares of stock in a corporation shareholder, stockholder investor - someone who commits capital in order to gain financial returns Forum at www.calpers-governance.org. CalPERS is the nation's largest public pension fund with assets totaling approximately $147 billion. The System provides retirement and health benefits to more than 1.2 million State and local public agency employees and their families. |
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