Sales deal reached on CNIFP's $650m forest estate

1.00pm

The entire forestry estate and some assets of the now defunct Central North Island Forest Partnership (CNIFP) have been sold to Harvard University in the United States.

Timber investment management company GMO Renewable Resources said it had signed a sales agreement with Ferrier Hodgson, the CNIFP receiver.

GMO was representing Harvard Management Company (HMC), which manages the endowment and other financial assets of Harvard University.

The purchase included the "entire forestry estate and certain related assets", GMO said in a statement today.

GMO did not release the purchase price, but Ferrier Hodgson receiver Michael Stiassny said it was valued at $600-650 million.

"We're very pleased with the outcome," Mr Stiassny told NZPA today.

"It's been a hard process for us with a number of stops and starts," he said.

"It's a win-win situation," he said.

The purchase did not include the underlying land of the 169,000ha estate, which would be retained by the Crown.

However, the Crown Forest Licences held by the partnership would be transferred to the new owners along with the trees and other assets.

The transaction is subject to certain conditions but is expected to be concluded by year's end.

GMO spokesman Ian Jolly said, whilst conditional, the agreement was a positive solution to the ownership issues that had surrounded the CNIFP for the past two year.

It "provides a significant opportunity for the development of a stable and sustainable management plan for the forest into the future," Mr Jolly said in a statement.

"It also demonstrates our confidence in New Zealand's forestry sector."

- NZPA