Ashurst has advised KordaMentha (receivers and managers of Auspine Limited, Gunns Consolidated Investments Pty Ltd and Gunns Limited) on the sale of Bell Bay and Tarpeena saw mills.

New Forests Timber Products Pty Limited (New Forests) has acquired the softwood timber saw milling and distribution operations at the Tarpeena saw mill, located in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia and the Bell Bay saw mill, located in the eastern shore of the Tamar River in Northern Tasmania.

Ashurst lead partner on the matter, Arthur Apos, said: "This deal sees the continuation of a large business in Tasmania and South Australia which employs hundreds of people and demonstrates the confidence of institutional investors in Australian forestry and timber processing assets."

New Forests manages 375,000 hectares of forestland and timber plantations across Australia on behalf of institutional investors.

The Ashurst team that advised on the matter, included partner Arthur Apos, senior associate Jonathan Ross and lawyer Megan Trethowan (Corporate), partner Con Tzerefos, senior associate Sarah Galloway (Finance), partner Geoff Mann and lawyer Elke Scevak (Tax), partner Bill Reid and senior associate Chris Evans (Competition), senior associate Andrew Blakeman (Banking), partner Lionel Meehan and foreign associate Nirupa Manoharan (Insolvency), partner Jason Cornwall-Jones, special counsel Vanessa Flax and senior associate Dayna Morris (Property), partner Jeff Lyn and lawyer Nicholas Antonas (Environment), partner Steven Amendola, senior associate Shamim Saeedi and lawyer Liz Grey (Employment), and senior associate Liam Nankervis (IP).

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