Russell Kennedy Lawyers has advised Allied Natural Wood Enterprises Pty Limited, a member of the Pentarch Group (Pentarch), in relation to its acquisition of Boral Limited’s (Boral) hardwood and softwood timber business for $64.5 million. As part of the acquisition, Pentarch will acquire eight sawmills, including part ownership of the Highland Pine mill at Oberon, which will see it become the largest hardwood processor in NSW.
Pentarch is an Australian-owned private company that derives its revenue from the procurement and export of forestry and agricultural products. The company employs approximately 250 staff throughout its operations in Australia and is administered by its head office in Southbank, Victoria.
Boral is a multinational company manufacturing and supplying building and construction materials. Founded in Australia, it also has extensive operations in the United States and Asia.
The Russell Kennedy team was led by Principal Rory Maguire from the firm’s Corporate Advisory / M&A team, with assistance Rohan Harris, Principal (Corporate Advisory / M&A), Ellen O’Neil, Senior Associate (Corporate Advisory / M&A), Jaqueline Wilson, Associate (Corporate Advisory / M&A), Connor Farrell, Lawyer (Corporate Advisory/ M&A), Stuart Weir, Consultant (Banking & Finance), Stefan Fielder, Principal (Planning & Environment), Samantha Taylor, Principal (Property), Janelle Oh, Associate (Property), Anna Shilova, Associate (Property) and David Francis, Lawyer (Property).
Herbert Smith Freehills advised Boral.
Russell Kennedy advises on Pentarch’s acquisition of Boral timber has been reported on by the Global Legal Chronicle here.
Russell Kennedy Principal and transaction lead, Rory Maguire, said:
“We were thrilled to assist Pentarch with the successful acquisition of Boral’s timber business. This is a landmark deal for the Group and an exciting time for the timber industry in Australia. We look forward to seeing the business thrive under Pentarch’s ownership.”
Pentarch Group chairman Malcolm McComb said:
"It's a strategic move by our group to focus our activities within Australia as well as our traditional export markets, as everyone's aware, there's some shortages in the timber industry that the moment that have stemmed from the last 30 or 40 years of management of forests. We're looking at what we can do that's smarter and an opportunity to do things differently going forward."
Boral Chief Executive Zlatko Todorcevski said:
“The sale of Boral’s Timber business represents another important milestone in focusing our portfolio and positioning for the future. In Australia, our focus is on our leading integrated construction materials business and maturing our adjacent growth strategies such as recycling, waste, supplementary cementitious materials and lower carbon products.
The sale of Boral’s Timber business to the Pentarch Group, a private company with growing interests in the forest products sector, is a good outcome for this business and its customers. Boral has owned and operated the Timber business for many decades and I want to take this opportunity to formally recognise the enormous contribution employees and management have made over the years to the wider Boral group.”
Further assistance:
For assistance regarding mergers and acquisitions, please contact Rory Maguire or a member of our Corporate & Commercial Advisory team.
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