Pacific Lumber Company

Pacific Lumber's 2007 bankruptcy collapsed a redwood logging company after hostile takeover by MAXXAM Inc. stripped its sustainable forestry practices. Charles Hurwitz acquired Pacific Lumber in 1985 through junk bond financing, then accelerated logging to service debt. The company that had practiced sustained-yield forestry for a century began clearcutting old-growth redwoods. Environmental protests and litigation followed. The bankruptcy resulted in conservation of 7,000 acres. Pacific Lumber demonstrated how financial engineering can destroy businesses that operated sustainably for generations.