2023-11-01 17:57:15 ET
Rayonier ( NYSE: RYN ) on Wednesday said it would shed 55K acres of timberland in Oregon for $242M, as part of an overall asset disposition plan targeting $1B in sales over the next 18 months.
The company also separately announced its Q3 results, in which it guided for full year adjusted EBITDA to be towards the higher end of its prior forecast.
Shares of the timberland real estate investment trust (REIT) rose 1.9% to $25.66 after hours.
According to RYN, the proceeds of the asset sales will go towards reducing the REIT's leverage to less than or equal to 3x net debt/adjusted EBITDA.
"The disconnect between private market timberland values and the Company’s public market valuation is at an historically wide level, and the plan announced today will allow us to take advantage of this opportunity to create value for our shareholders as well as right-size our leverage to the current market environment," RYN top boss David Nunes said in a statement .
The first step in the $1B targeted asset sales is the disposition of the timberland in Oregon, which will be bought by Manulife Investment Management.
The Oregon sale is expected to close in Q4, and the company plans to use $150M of the proceeds to pay down its only floating rate debt.
"Our portfolio scale and pure-play timber REIT structure afford us the flexibility to take these initiatives, and we are confident that they will result in meaningful value accretion for our shareholders," RYN CEO Nunes added.
More on Rayonier
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- Rayonier Inc. (RYN) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript
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- Rayonier declares $0.285 dividend
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Rayonier targets $1B in asset sales as part of a plan to improve shareholder value