Weyerhaeuser has claimed that Willamettes board is "jeopardising" the value of the company in a letter to its preys shareholders.


The group is seeking investors support for the election of its three nominees to the Willamette board, but warned: "If the Weyerhaeuser nominees are not elected, we will be forced to withdraw our offer."


Willamette chief executive Duane McDougall told Reuters that the groups board had "not set a number" for its value but that Weyerhaeusers 3.84bn ($5.5bn) hostile bid was "not even in the ballpark".


He also said that he had not found any investors willing to sell their stake at Weyerhaeusers 35-per-share offer.


Weyerhaeuser had also said that Willamette was using "fuzzy maths" to speculate on the trading level of its share price in the absence of the takeover offer.


"We think that Willamette is manipulating the data solely to justify its long-standing decision not to permit a sale of the company," the letter added.


"We think that Willamettes board and management have made it crystal clear that the company they have been entrusted to manage is simply not for sale, at any price."
Weyerhaeuser has extended its offer from midnight on 18 May to 7 June, but Willamette said it was "disappointed" that its rival had "decided to continue its hostile actions".


Story by Gordon Carson