BAXLEY, GA - International Forest Products Limited (Interfor, TSX:IFP.A) will acquire the Wood Products Business assets of Rayonier Inc. for $80 million. The deal for the Baxley, GA-based Rayonier, a maker of Southern Pine dimension lumber, inclusive of working capital, is scheduled to close in late February or early March, subject to U.S. regulatory approval.

Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) reported fourth quarter net income of $76 million on January 24, up $20 million from the year prior period. Full year 2012 net income totaled $279 million, up $3 million from the year prior.

Rayonier's Wood Products Business consists of three sawmills located in Baxley, Swainsboro and Eatonton, GA, with a combined annual capacity of 360 million board feet of southern pine dimension lumber. As part of the transaction, Interfor has agreed to hire all of the current employees.

The acquisition of Rayonier's Wood Products Business, Interfor's first in the Southeast, is part of a strategy of adding capacity in "attractive regional markets," says Duncan Davies, Interfor CEO.

Interfor says the deal brings its annual capacity to more than 2 billion board feet and represents the Company's first investment in the Southeast region of the U.S. "We have been looking for an opportunity in the Southeast for some time and consider this is an ideal time to proceed," said Davies.