Australian forestry company OneFortyOne Plantations gets nod to buy Nelson Forests

Tuesday, 21 August 2018

Nelson Forests has more than 60,000 productive hectares of plantations in the Nelson-Marlborough region.

The purchase of Nelson Forests Ltd by Australian forestry company OneFortyOne Plantations Holdings Pty Ltd has been given ministerial approval following an application to the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office.

September 4 is the scheduled completion date for the sale.

Owned by investment funds advised by US-based timberland investment management organisation Global Forest Partners LP, Nelson Forests has more than 60,000 productive hectares of plantations in the Nelson-Marlborough region as well as the Kaituna Sawmill, near Blenheim.

It employs 101 people fulltime and about 350 contractors, producing 1.2 million cubic metres of logs and 55,000 cubic metres of timber annually. The new Australian owners say its staff will be retained.

The Kaituna Sawmill, near Blenheim, is included in the sale of Nelson Forests.

**READ MORE:

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OneFortyOne (OFO) confirmed in December that it had signed an agreement to acquire Nelson Forests. OFO chief executive Linda Sewell on Monday said the company was pleased approval had been granted for the sale.

'The decision is important, providing certainty for the Nelson Forests' team, customers, the region and the broader NZ forest industry,' Sewell said. 'We look forward to being a strong contributor to the region.'

OFO director of external affairs Rob Cairns said the purchase of Nelson Forests for an 'undisclosed amount' was the first OFO acquisition outside Australia.

The Australian company would 'absolutely' retain the staff and management team of Nelson Forests.

'It will continue to run and do what it's done,' Cairns said.

Nelson Forests was an important part of the local community 'and we're looking forward to continuing that long into the future'.

Nelson Forests employs 101 people fulltime and about 350 contractors.

Sewell intended to be in Nelson to mark the completion date and 'welcome the Nelson Forests' team to the OFO family'.

OFO was formed in 2012 following the acquisition of a 105-year lease of 93,000ha of plantation assets from the South Australian Government.

OFO's name comes from the 141st meridian line at the border of South Australia and Victoria, and passing through OFO's plantation estate.

Since commencing its operations, OFO has expanded its estate, increased the number of trees planted and grown its domestic processing and sales market by more than 45 per cent.

In January 2018, OFO purchased Carter Holt Harvey's Jubilee Highway sawmill at Mt Gambier, South Australia and woodchip operations at Portland, Victoria.