LONGVIEW, Washington (From The Daily News) -- Weyerhaeuser Co. announced that it will sell its Longview liquid packaging plant -- a major portion of the Longview operations -- to Nippon Paper Industries for $285 million, according to a company press release.

The sale doesn't include NORPAC, the Longview newsprint and book-paper maker jointly owned by Weyerhaeuser and Nippon. Once the transaction is complete by the end of the third quarter, NORPAC would be Weyerhaeuser's only remaining pulp and paper mill as it moves to focus on its timberlands and forestry.

"This transaction creates significant value for Weyerhaeuser shareholders and enhances the focus of our portfolio as we work to be the world's premier timber, land, and forest products company," said Doyle R. Simons, Weyerhaeuser president and chief executive officer, in a press release.

The Federal Way-based company expects to use a substantial portion of the proceeds from the sale to pay down debt.

The Longview mill has about 550 employees making 280,000 tons of product annually, according to Weyerhaeuser. Last year, the mill made $362 million in net sales with a gross profit of $23 million and an operating income of $9 million, according to Nippon.

It's not clear whether there will be any layoffs.

Weyerhaeuser spokesman Anthony Chavez said NORPAC is still under "strategic review" and details will be announced once the review is complete.

By the end of September, Nippon will create a wholly-owned subsidiary from the Longview mill, plus sales offices in the U.S., Japan and South Korea, according to the report from the Nikkei Asian Review.

The deal would make Japan-based Nippon Paper the world's third biggest maker of cups, milk containers and other liquid packaging products, Nikkei Asian Review reported.

Nikkei and other news agencies broke news of the sale before either Nippon or Weyerhaeuser Co. made an announcement on their websites and before filings were available at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. However, Weyerhaeuser and Nippon issued press releases about the sale by the early evening Wednesday.

Greg Pallesen, vice president of Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers, said the liquid packaging plant employs about 450 hourly, unionized workers. Nippon will have to honor AWPPW's contract with Weyerhaeuser, he said.

"We have succession language in our labor agreement and our expectation is that language will hold," Pallesen said. AWPPW already represents workers at Nippon's paper mill in Port Angeles.

Weyerhaeuser has been shopping around its cellulose fiber business since last November. In February, the company nearly doubled its U.S. timber acreage when it finalized a $8.8 billion merger with Plum Creek, creating the world's biggest timberland and forest products company. In early May, International Paper Co. bought seven of Weyerhaeuser's mills for $2.2 billion, but the deal excluded the Longview newsprint and liquid packaging mills.

Analysts did not seem surprised that Nippon was the buyer, but wondered why the sale did not include NORPAC.

"The argument in the past the liquid packaging plant is integrated operationally with the NORPAC mill," said Kevin Mason, analyst with ERA Forest Products Research.

The joint venture component might have made the Longview locations "a tough sell" to outside companies such as International Paper, Mason speculated.

Mason added the deal makes sense as Weyerhaeuser shifts away from pulp and paper.

"They're basically backing off to focus on timberland or housing-related parts of the business," he said.

Weyerhaeuser will continue to operate its Longview saw mill and log yard, which is the largest log export operation on the West Coast, Chavez said.

"The employees of our liquid packaging board business have much to contribute to the future success of Nippon Paper Industries," Simons said. "I want to thank our team for continuing to operate safely, and for delivering an exceptional customer experience throughout the strategic review process. Our liquid packaging board products and people are celebrated across the industry for their quality."