Carter Holt forest sale goes unconditional

The $435m sale of 94,300ha of Carter Holt Harvey's forest to an American-led consortium has gone unconditional.

Carter Holt entered into a sales agreement on July 15 to sell the forests to a joint venture comprised of American company Rayonier and RREEF Infrastructure, the global infrastructure arm of Deutsche Asset Management.

The sale was conditional on approval from the Overseas Investment Commission, which was granted last month, and a number of other commercial conditions which CHH said have now been met.

The deal will see Rayonier, one of the world's leading forest products companies, become the third largest forest owner/manager in New Zealand.

The US company has operated here since 1988 and currently owns about 48,000ha of forests, which it will sell to the consortium.

CHH will retain about 220,000ha of forests after the sale, which will be completed in early October.

CHH is currently the subject of a $2.50 per share full takeover offer by billionaire businessman Graeme Hart's Rank Group. The offer values CHH at $3.27 billion.

Last week CHH's independent directors said shareholders should reject the offer, saying it was below fair value. The recommendation was based on advice from independent advisers Grant Samuel and Associates, as well as investment bank Cameron & Company.

Shares in CHH last traded yesterday above the offer price, at $2.52, having hit a 12 month high of $2.62 in August.

- NZPA