CHILE – Arauco signed on January 14 an agreement to purchase 3 panel plants from American “SierraPine”. With this acquisition Arauco will operate 10 industrial facilities in North America.

Upon completion, the Arauco plants in North America will have an installed panel capacity of 2 billion feet sq. ft. (¾” basis) or 3.5 million cubic meters, adding to the capacity of the composite panel plants that Arauco holds in Brazil, Argentina and Chile. The transaction will amount to US$ 107 million, plus an amount of up to US$ 13 million in inventory.

The operation includes two particleboard plants in Martell and Springfield, California and an MDF plant located in Medford, Oregon. The plants output will be geared mostly to the furniture industry and will be marketed mainly in the U.S.

 “This acquisition represents another important step in the process of internationalization of Arauco. We are very happy since this operation allows us to satisfactory supply our customers in a very sophisticated market such as the U.S., which has been showing a strong recovery since 2012”, said Matías Domeyko, the company’s Executive Vice President.

The two companies are targeting a closing during the first quarter of 2014. The transaction is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals.