WILDLIGHT, Fla. (News release) -- Rayonier Inc. announced the completion of the previously announced sale of entities holding its 77% interest in the New Zealand joint venture to a special purpose vehicle owned by an investment fund managed by The Rohatyn Group ("TRG"), a global asset manager specializing in emerging markets and real assets, for a purchase price of $710 million. Net proceeds to Rayonier, after adjusting for estimated net debt, working capital, transaction costs, and other closing adjustments, are expected to be $699 million.
Rayonier continues to anticipate using at least 50% of the proceeds to reduce leverage and/or return capital to shareholders through special dividends and share repurchases. Remaining proceeds are expected to be deployed opportunistically to fund other capital allocation priorities, including additional share buybacks and/or potential reinvestment into synergistic acquisitions. Rayonier continues to expect a special dividend for 2025 of $1.00 to $1.40 per share, which will be paid in a combination of cash and shares (details to be announced later this year). During the second quarter, Rayonier repurchased ~1.5 million shares for ~$35 million in total. As of June 30, 2025, the company had ~$262 million remaining under its current share repurchase authorization.
Rayonier had previously reclassified its New Zealand business to discontinued operations on its consolidated financial statements, and the updated financial outlook provided in conjunction with the company's first quarter results on April 30 excluded contributions from the New Zealand business.
"We have now completed roughly $1.45 billion of dispositions since introducing our asset disposition and capital structure realignment plan in November 2023--significantly exceeding the original $1 billion target," said Mark McHugh, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rayonier. "The success of this plan has allowed us to achieve our new leverage target in a manner that has been accretive to both CAD* and NAV per share, as well as better position Rayonier to create long-term value for our shareholders going forward."
"We want to extend our gratitude to the team in New Zealand, which has done an outstanding job in managing these highly productive assets, and we are pleased to transfer the stewardship of this business to TRG, a well-regarded manager of forestry assets in the region," added McHugh.
