Boise Cascade yesterday agreed to sell its paper, forest products and timberland assets for $3.7bn to Madison Dearborn, a private equity firm, in an effort to refocus almost entirely on its office products distribution business.

The deal marks the culmination of Boise's effort to leave the commodity paper and lumber business, which began a year ago when it agreed to buy OfficeMax for $1.2bn. At the time, the move was seen as a reflection of the weakness of the US paper market with slowing demand and rising energy prices reducing profit margins.