End Of An Era Marked As Final Pope And Talbot Mills Sold

BUSINESS 

By Kristian Foden-Vencil

Portland, OR  February 12, 2008 3:53 p.m.

Portland’s 160-year-old wood products company, Pope and Talbot, announced the sale of its last assets Tuesday -- two lumber mills in Canada. As Kristian Foden-Vencil reports, the bankruptcy sales mark the end of an era.

Over the last decade, Portland has lost a slew of timber giants – from Willamette Industries to Louisiana Pacific and Crown Pacific.

Pope and Talbot was Stumptown’s last public wood products company -- employing about 280 people at its downtown headquarters.

Steve Chercover, a research analyst with D.A. Davidson, says it’s a sad day.

Steve Chercover: “This is the last asset sale that Pope and Talbot had to consummate and really it’s for nominal value. So this does not get them over the hump. Unfortunately, there’s nothing left for shareholders and probably not enough to even satisfy all the outstanding debt.”

The company was on the Fortune 500 list in 1988. Last year, its shares traded for $6. Today they change hands for 3 cents.

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