Rayonier is 'going to be acquiring lands' after completing spin-off of performance fibers, says incoming CEO of timberlands and real estate business

Audrey Dixon

May 12, 2014 (Bloomberg LP) – May 12 (Bloomberg) -- Rayonier Inc., the Florida company that’s spinning off its specialty wood pulp business, is seeking to expand by buying more land, incoming Chief Executive Officer David Nunes said.

“We’re going to be acquiring lands,” Nunes said today in a telephone interview. “We’ll have a balance sheet that will allow for that.”

Nunes, 52, will join the company June 9 as chief operating officer and become CEO after the previously announced split, Jacksonville, Florida-based Rayonier said in a statement today. Nunes said he didn’t know yet where or how much the company would spend to buy additional timberlands, from which it can sell logs and in some cases develop into real estate.

Rayonier announced in January it would spin off its business that turns wood pulp into cigarette filters and other performance fibers. The remaining timberlands and real estate assets will retain the Rayonier name. The other company, which will trade separately, will be called Rayonier Advanced Materials.

Rayonier owns and manages 2.6 million acres of working forests in 10 U.S. states and New Zealand, according to the company’s website.

Nunes was CEO of Poulsbo, Washington-based Pope Resources, a timberland owner and real-estate developer.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christopher Donville in Vancouver at cjdonville@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Simon Casey at scasey4@bloomberg.net Tina Davis, Jasmina Kelemen

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