RICHMOND, Va., May 1 /PRNewswire/ -- James River Corporation announced
today that it has completed its previously announced transaction with the
Hancock Timber Resource Group, an investment unit of John Hancock Mutual Life
Insurance Company, of Boston, Massachusetts, for the sale of approximately
95,000 acres of timberlands in Alabama and Mississippi.  In consideration for
the sale, James River received $111 million in cash.  The company expects
to record a second quarter after-tax gain of approximately $35 million.
    The company also signed a long-term wood supply agreement with the
Hancock Timber Resource Group.  Under this agreement, James River will have
certain cutting rights on these lands to provide pulpwood to the company's
Naheola mill in Pennington, Ala.  The Naheola mill is one of James River's
largest manufacturing facilities, producing a wide range of consumer towel and
tissue products, as well as bleached paperboard used in making Dixie cups and
plates and folding cartons.  The majority of the timberlands sold are located
within 35 miles of the Naheola mill, and they currently provide the mill with
a small percentage of its annual wood requirements.
    "This sale completes another important step in the restructuring of our
portfolio of assets.  The transaction further focuses the company on our core
consumer products and packaging businesses and gives us increased financial
flexibility, while protecting a strategic mill's long-term wood supply,"
said Miles L. Marsh, James River's chairman and chief executive officer.
    James River Corporation, headquartered in Richmond, Va., is a leading
marketer and manufacturer of paper-based consumer products, packaging, and
business, printing and converting papers.  The second largest worldwide
producer of tissue products, James River markets such leading brands as
Quilted Northern bathroom tissue, Brawny paper towels, Vanity Fair napkins,
and Dixie cups and plates in North America, and Lotus bathroom tissue, towels,
and facial tissue in Europe.  The company also markets Quilt-Rap sandwich
wrap, Qwik Wave microwave packaging, and Eureka! and Word Pro copy papers.
James River's current annual sales rate is approximately $5.6 billion.
    Today's news release, along with past releases from James River, is
available by fax, at no charge, by calling 800-758-5804, ext. 457350.  You may
access James River's corporate-wide site at Internet address
http://www.jamesrivercorp.com.

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