Timber companies Potlatch and Deltic complete merger

Potlatch Corp. has completed its merger with a smaller rival, Deltic Timber Corp., in an all-stock deal that creates a company with 2 million acres of private timber holdings.

Spokane-based Potlatch and Arkansas-based Deltic announced the finalization of the deal Tuesday afternoon. The new company is called PotlatchDeltic Corp. Its shares will trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol “PCH.”

Mike Covey, formerly Potlatch’s chairman and CEO, will remain in that role for PotlatchDeltic, which will keep its Spokane headquarters. Covey said in a news release the entities are working to integrate business operations and capture benefits from the merger.

PotlatchDeltic will be able to produce about 1.2 billion board feet of lumber annually, which ranks it among the leading U.S. lumber manufacturers, Covey said.

PotlatchDeltic has about 1,500 employees and a market capitalization of more than $3 billion, with $700 million in debt. About half of the company’s timberland is in the South, mostly in Arkansas and northern Louisiana. The company also has large timber holdings in Idaho and Minnesota.

The manufacturing operations include six lumber mills, a plywood plant and a fiberboard plant.

Deltic shareholders will receive 1.8 shares of PotlatchDeltic stock for each outstanding share of Deltic stock. About 22 million common shares of PotlatchDeltic will be issued to Deltic shareholders, representing about 35 percent of the company’s outstanding shares.