<B>G-P Looking to Sell Off Mills</B>

The planned merger of Fort James by Georgia-Pacific is still on the schedule. While the merger is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, the U.S. Department of Justice is requesting additional information from both companies under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.

If the merger is completed, the combined company will be the largest producer of tissue products in the world. In connection with the deal, Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific announced plans to divest selected businesses, and will shed about 250,000 tons of tissue manufacturing capacity for away-from-home products.

The planned merger between G-P and Fort James will create the largest tissue producer in the world.

This past week there have been a number of reports of mills which G-P has earmarked for sale. According to local press reports, the plants that are on the market include the: tissue operations at Plattsburgh, N.Y., Brattleboro Vt., Greenwich, N.Y., Alsip, Ill., Gary, Ind., LaGrange, Ga., Flagstaff, Ariz., and Bellemont, Ariz..

Along with the tissue facilities, market pulp operations that reportedly are being considered for sale include mills in Leaf River, Miss., Woodland, Maine, and Brunswick, Ga.

The sale of any or all of these facilities, as well as the possible sale of other locations in the G-P system would go a long way toward assuaging federal anti-trust concerns that could hamper the merger of the G-P and Fort James.

While the company hasn't announced any prospective buyers, a number of paper companies have been viewing various mills.

According to press reports companies that are reportedly eyeing possible purchases include SCA, a European firm, and American Tissue Corp.