MARQUETTE – It’s unclear how the merger of two Washington-based timber industry giants, one of which owns hundreds of thousands of acres in the Upper Peninsula, will impact operations locally.

An announcement was made earlier this week that Weyerhaeuser Company is buying Plum Creek Timber Company Inc. to form one of the world’s largest private timberland owners.

Weyerhaeuser owns about 7 million acres of land, mostly located in the northwestern and southern parts of the United States.

Plum Creek owns more than 6 million acres throughout 19 U.S. states, including roughly 571,000 acres spread across 13 counties in the U.P., primarily in the central region.

Kathy Budinick, a corporate spokeswoman for Plum Creek, said her company is excited about combining the two industry leaders.

“Weyerhaeuser has a really great reputation, and we’re excited to join forces with a company that has a really strong history of practicing sustainable forestry and a commitment to supporting local communities,” Budinick said.

The combination will create a company with an equity value of $23 billion, according to a joint press release from the two businesses.

The deal requires the approval of both companies’ shareholders and is subject to customary closing conditions, the release states. Closing of the transaction is expected in March or April.

“The two companies are continuing to operate as separate entities until the transaction closes and it’s premature for us to offer comment about future operating decisions,” Budinick said. “So until then, it’s business as usual for Plum Creek in Michigan.”

Plum Creek entered Michigan in 2005, when it purchased its current land holdings from Escanaba Timber LLC. According to its website, 95 percent of the land in Michigan is open to the public at no charge for recreational activities.

Weyerhaeuser employs around 12,800 people worldwide. Plum Creek has about 1,300 employees.

Following the merger, Doyle Simons, president and CEO of Weyerhaeuser, will retain those titles with the new company, while Plum Creek CEO Rick Holley will serve as a non-executive chairman.

The company will keep the Weyerhaeuser name, and will create a new 13-member board of directors, eight from Weyerhaeuser and five from Plum Creek.

“We’ve drawn from the best talent in each company to select a leadership team with unmatched expertise in the industry,” Simons said in the release. “I’m confident these are the right leaders to take best practices from both companies to achieve our targets, serve our customers, and drive shareholder value over the long term.”

According to the release, the companies expect annual “cost synergies” of $100 million.

In a recent article from The Seattle Times, Simons was quoted saying there is “some overlap in terms of people,” but said it was too early to estimate how many positions would be cut. The article also stated that Weyerhaeuser was paying $8.4 billon for the holdings of Plum Creek.