Sappi Ltd

Nearly 1 million acres of woodland in central Maine--5% of the state's forests--were sold by one timber company to another, worrying environmentalists who fear the vast tract will be cut down or sold to developers. In one of the biggest land deals in Maine history, Seattle-based Plum Creek Timber Co. agreed to pay Sappi Fine Paper North America $180 million for 905,000 acres. Environmentalists had been pressing Maine Gov.

Scott Paper Co. said Monday that it will sell S.D. Warren Co., its printing paper division, to an investor group led by South Africa's Sappi Ltd. for $1.6 billion. The highly leveraged deal is the first significant foreign acquisition by a South African company in the United States in 20 years. It would make Johannesburg-based Sappi the world's largest producer of coated wood-free papers. The other investors are DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and its affiliated funds, and UBS Capital Corp.