New Zealand’s second-largest forest owner, Fletcher Challenge Forests Ltd, is having talks with potential partners to purchase the assets of its failed partnership with China International Trust & Investment Corporation.
Fletcher recently opened negotiations with the receiver of the failed Central North Island Forests Partnership to buy 162,000 hectares of trees and three sawmills it previously owned with CITIC.
The company has five weeks to confirm terms for the transaction, including financing. A spokesman said: ‘We need some cash assistance because we cannot do this alone.’
Other potential buyers include CITIC, Hancock Timber Resource Group and UBS Timber Investors.
