Oregon timber company Crown Pacific Partners is being wound up.
In 2003 the company went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy after defaulting on over US$500m of debts. According to The Oregonian newspaper, after expanding rapidly through the 1990s and borrowing heavily to buy timberlands, it was hit by falling prices and the US timber sector downturn in 2000.
In 2004 Crown sold five lumber yards and three mills, with the latter going to International Forest Products of Canada.
Under the fiinal liquidation arrangements agreed at a federal bankruptcy court in Phoenix, Crown Pacific’s 2,125km2 of timberland will be handed over to Cascade Timberlands, which is owned by creditors. The latter company will take an inventory of the estate before deciding on its next course of action.
