Rayonier Inc. completes sale of its 77% interest in the New Zealand joint venture to The Rohatyn Group for $710 million, generating net proceeds of $699 million for the company, according to Rayonier Inc.
Rayonier plans to allocate at least half of the net proceeds to reduce leverage and return capital to shareholders through a special dividend of $1.00–$1.40 per share and additional share repurchases, earmarking the remainder for opportunistic capital allocation.
During the second quarter, the company repurchased approximately 1.5 million shares for a total of about $35 million and retains $262 million under its current share repurchase authorization.
Since launching its asset disposition and capital realignment plan in November 2023, Rayonier completes $1.45 billion of dispositions, exceeds its initial $1.0 billion target and meets its updated leverage goals.
As of March 31, 2025, Rayonier owned or leased approximately 2.5 million acres of timberlands, including 1.75 million acres in the U.S. South, 308 thousand acres in the Pacific Northwest and 412 thousand acres in New Zealand, fully divesting its New Zealand holdings on June 30, 2025.
