RYN Rayonier Inc

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) said today that it has entered into an agreement that will reduce its investment in a New Zealand timber consortium from 49.7 percent to 40 percent, consistent with its announced intent when the consortium was formed in October 2005. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter and result in net cash proceeds to Rayonier of approximately US$23 million (at a New Zealand/U.S. dollar exchange rate of .63) and an after-tax gain of $6 million, or 8 cents per share, including $5 million of previously deferred gain. Rayonier will continue to manage the consortium's 354,000 acre estate. The consortium, which has been led by RREEF Infrastructure, the global infrastructure investing arm of Deutsche Asset Management, has agreed to sell a 35 percent interest, including 9.7 percent from Rayonier, to funds managed by AMP Capital Investors Limited, a subsidiary of AMP Limited, an Australian corporation. The sale is subject to approval by the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. In October 2005, the consortium purchased Rayonier's 119,000 acres and 235,000 acres of other forests in New Zealand. Rayonier is an international forest products company with three core businesses - Timber, Real Estate and Performance Fibers. It owns, leases or manages 2.5 million acres of timberland in the U.S., New Zealand and Australia. The company's real estate subsidiary, TerraPointe, is focused on maximizing the value of its extensive higher-and-better use properties, particularly in the fast-growing coastal corridor between Savannah, Georgia, and Daytona Beach, Florida, where the company owns approximately 200,000 acres. Rayonier is also the world's leading producer of high performance cellulose specialty products. Approximately 40 percent of the company's sales are outside the U.S. to customers in more than 50 countries. Statements regarding the anticipated sale of a portion of Rayonier's interest in the New Zealand timberland consortium, and the expected effect of such sale on the company's results and earnings, are "forward-looking statements" made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of federal securities laws. The following important factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements: the ability of the company and the buyer to fulfill the conditions necessary to complete the transaction described in this release, including, without limitation, receipt of approval of the transaction by the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office, and the exchange rate between the New Zealand and U.S. dollars at the time of closing. For additional factors that could impact future results, please see the company's most recent Form 10-K on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Rayonier assumes no obligation to update these statements except as may be required by law.