Willamette Industries, a large forest products company, tentatively accepted a sweetened US$6.1 billion offer from larger rival Weyerhaeuser on January 21 of this year, ending one of the longest hostile bids in recent industry history.

In the deal, Weyerhaeuser would control 7.5-million-acres of timberland in the U.S. alone and boost its combined revenue to about US$20 billion. The acquisition would place Weyerhaeuser as one of the largest paper industry titans, trailing only behind competitors International Paper and Georgia-Pacific.