VANCOUVER - Canadian forestry company West Fraser Timber Co. (WFT.TO) says it has agreed to buy a U.S. lumber business for about US$430 million.

B.C.-based West Fraser says it will acquire the operations of the Gilman Companies from the Howard Gilman Foundation and other shareholders.

The Gilman Companies are comprised of six sawmills and a finger-joint mill in Florida and Georgia as well as an administrative office in Georgia.

The operations employ approximately 900 people and have a combined annual production capacity of 700 million board feet of lumber.

The deal, which is subject to U.S. regulatory approval and customary conditions, is anticipated to close in the third quarter of this year.