Exhibit 99.1
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| | 50 N. Laura Street |
| | Jacksonville, Fla. 32202 |
| | 904-357-9100 |
News Release
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Contacts | | | | |
| Investors | | Mr. Carl Kraus | | 904-357-9158 |
| Media Relations | | Mrs. Shannon Thuren | | 904-357-9181 |
For Immediate Release
Rayonier Announces Intent to Offer New Zealand Timberland for Sale
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., August 19, 2008 – Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) today announced that the New Zealand joint venture Matariki Forests, in which it has a 40 percent interest, has decided to offer its timberlands for sale. Matariki Forests owns the third largest forest estate in New Zealand, with approximately 343,000 acres of timberland well positioned throughout the country. In addition to its equity interest, Rayonier provides timberland management services to the joint venture. “The decision to offer this high quality Radiata pine estate allows the joint venture to tap the private market’s strong appetite for timberland as an attractive asset class,” said Rayonier chairman, president and CEO Lee M. Thomas. “We will work with the other Matariki owners to select a financial advisor and begin marketing this property within the next three months.” A sale of the joint venture’s timberlands would be expected to close sometime in 2009.
Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., Rayonier is a leading international forest products company with three core businesses: Timber, Real Estate and Performance Fibers. The company owns, leases or manages 2.6 million acres of timber and land in the United States and New Zealand. The company’s real estate holdings include approximately 200,000 acres in the fast-growing counties along Interstate 95 between Savannah, Georgia, and Daytona Beach, Florida. Rayonier is structured as a real estate investment trust.
Certain statements in this document regarding anticipated financial outcomes (including earnings guidance, if any), business and market conditions, outlook and other similar statements relating to Rayonier’s future financial and operational performance, are “forward-looking statements” made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements are identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “estimate,” “believe,” “anticipate” and other similar language. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on these statements.
The following important factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements that may have been made in this document: the cyclical and competitive nature of the industries in which we operate; fluctuations in demand for, or supply of, our forest products offerings; entry of new competitors into our markets; changes in global economic conditions and world events, including political changes in particular regions or countries; changes in energy and raw material prices; the geographic concentration of a significant portion of our timberland; our ability to identify and complete timberland acquisitions; changes in environmental laws and regulations, including laws regarding air emissions and water discharges, remediation of contaminated sites, timber harvesting, delineation of wetlands, and endangered species, that may restrict or adversely impact our ability to conduct our business, or increase the cost of doing so; adverse weather conditions, natural disasters and other catastrophic events such as hurricanes, wind storms and wildfires, which can adversely affect our timberlands and the production, distribution and availability of our products and raw materials such as wood, energy and chemicals; changes in tariffs, taxes or treaties relating to the import and export of our products or those of our competitors; the ability to complete like-kind-exchanges of timberlands and real estate; our ability to continue to qualify as a REIT and to fund distributions using cash generated through our taxable REIT subsidiaries; and changes in tax laws that could reduce the benefits associated with REIT status.
