Carter Holt gets OIC nod for forest sale

Carter Holt Harvey (CHH) said today it has been given the Overseas Investment Commission sign-off to sell a third of its forest assets to an offshore consortium.

CHH last month agreed to sell 94,300ha of forests to a consortium comprising of Rayonier Inc and RREEF Infrastructure, the global infrastructure arm or Deutsche Asset Management, for $435 million.

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

Rayonier has operated in New Zealand 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, expected to be completed in early October.

Shares in CHH, which is the target of a $3.25 billion takeover offer by billionaire Graeme Hart, last traded up a cent at $2.53.

- NZPA