Rayonier Inc. has signed an approximately 36,000-square-foot lease at Terminus 100 in Atlanta’s Buckhead district, locking in the address for a new corporate headquarters it expects to open in the first quarter of 2027. The move relocates the timberland REIT from its longtime base in Wildlight, Florida, near Jacksonville, and follows the company’s January 30, 2026 merger with PotlatchDeltic, a Spokane, Washington-based timber REIT. Together the merged companies will form the second-largest publicly traded timber and wood products company in North America.
Rayonier has framed the new headquarters as a natural fit for a company that, in its own words, is Georgia’s largest private landowner, with nearly 850,000 acres of sustainably managed timberland across the state. The new office, the company said, is set to open in the first quarter of 2027. The relocation ends more than a decade in which the company’s principal executive office sat at 1 Rayonier Way in Wildlight, the Nassau County mixed-use development the original Rayonier built around its headquarters. Wildlight, however, won’t go dark: the company confirmed when it announced the merger that it would maintain a significant regional office there. Jacksonville loses the title of corporate home, and Atlanta takes it.
The Buckhead Lease and What It Covers
The lease, signed in early June 2026, gives Rayonier one-and-a-half floors in the 27-story Terminus 100 tower at 3280 Peachtree Road, on the corner of Peachtree and Piedmont roads. The deal pushes Terminus 100 to roughly 85% leased, according to CoStar. JLL represented Rayonier in the lease negotiations and will also serve as the company’s property manager for the new office build-out.
Cousins Properties, the Atlanta-based REIT that owns Terminus 100, is the landlord. Cousins’ Jeff Dils and Cameron Bloodworth brokered the deal for the landlord side, while JLL’s Ryanne Pennington and Brennan Koslow represented Rayonier. ASD|SKY is the interior designer for the build-out, and rand* construction is the general contractor. The full build-out and corporate move-in are expected to take Rayonier into its new offices in the first quarter of 2027.
- 36,000 square feet across one-and-a-half floors
- 27 floors in the Terminus 100 tower
- 590,000 square feet in the building’s total size
- First quarter of 2027 target opening
- About 85% leased in Terminus 100 after the deal
| Role | Party |
|---|---|
| Tenant | Rayonier Inc. |
| Landlord | Cousins Properties |
| Tenant broker | JLL (Ryanne Pennington, Brennan Koslow) |
| Landlord brokers | Cousins Properties (Jeff Dils, Cameron Bloodworth) |
The Merger That Put Rayonier in Atlanta
Rayonier and PotlatchDeltic announced the all-stock merger of equals on October 14, 2025, with the deal closing on January 30, 2026 after shareholder and regulatory approvals. The original terms, in the all-stock merger of equals announcement, set the transaction to close in late first quarter or early second quarter of 2026. The exchange ratio adjusted to 1.8185 Rayonier shares plus $0.61 in cash per PotlatchDeltic share at closing, an adjustment designed to reflect a $1.40-per-share Rayonier special dividend paid in December 2025.
The combined company carries a pro forma equity market capitalization of $7.1 billion and a total enterprise value of $8.2 billion, including $1.1 billion of net debt. Rayonier shareholders own approximately 54% of the combined company, and former PotlatchDeltic holders own about 46%, after giving effect to the special dividend. On a combined basis, the merged company controls a timberland portfolio of approximately 4.2 million acres across 11 states, with 3.2 million acres in the U.S. South and 931,000 acres in the U.S. Northwest. The deal makes the combined company the second-largest publicly traded timber and wood products company in North America, behind Weyerhaeuser, which remains the largest and is also a significant Georgia landowner.
The corporate headquarters of the combined company is in Atlanta, with significant regional offices maintained in Spokane, Washington, and in Wildlight, Florida. A new name for the merged company is to be announced prior to closing, the original deal documents said.
Run-rate synergies are expected to reach approximately $40 million annually, driven by corporate and operational overhead savings, with full realization within 24 months of closing. The combined company projects a pro forma Net Debt to LTM Adjusted EBITDA ratio of roughly 2.5x and Net Debt to Enterprise Value of less than 15%, and intends to keep a regular quarterly dividend. The first quarter of 2026 dividend was declared at $0.26 per common share, payable March 31, 2026.
Why Atlanta, and What Wildlight Keeps
Rayonier cast the Atlanta headquarters as a natural fit for a company that, in its own words, is Georgia’s largest private landowner, with nearly 850,000 acres of sustainably managed timberland across the state, per Rayonier’s own statement on the new lease. The choice also lands in a state recognized for its business climate, with Atlanta as a prime location for corporate headquarters, a pattern Rayonier invoked in describing the move.
Chief Executive Officer Mark McHugh said in announcing the lease that the new headquarters establishes a strategic hub in the heart of the U.S. South, combining a thriving business ecosystem with proximity to a significant portion of the company’s landholdings. Roughly 3.2 million acres of the combined company’s 4.2-million-acre timberland portfolio sit in the U.S. South, and more than three-quarters of its timberland assets are concentrated in top-tier Southern timber regions. Atlanta sits closer to that footprint than the prior Wildlight base, where the SEC still lists 1 Rayonier Way as the principal executive office. Governor Brian P. Kemp, quoted in the company’s announcement, said Rayonier’s growing footprint reflects a longstanding commitment to the state.
Wildlight is not going dark. The company confirmed in the merger announcement that it will maintain a significant regional office in Wildlight, alongside a similar regional presence in Spokane. The relocation shifts the corporate center of gravity to Atlanta, but leaves the principal Florida presence in place. The new headquarters is expected to open in the first quarter of 2027.
The Combined Footprint of the New Timberland REIT
The combined company operates seven wood products manufacturing facilities, including six lumber mills with total capacity of 1.2 billion board feet and one industrial plywood mill with 150 million square feet of plywood capacity. It also combines two real estate development businesses, with established projects at Wildlight in Florida, Heartwood in Arkansas, and Chenal Valley. The two real estate platforms together have a track record of higher-and-better-use premium realizations and significant long-term upside from value-add development in Arkansas, Florida, and Georgia. The combination adds complementary carbon, utility solar, and minerals opportunities on the combined land base.
Management expects approximately $40 million in annual cost synergies within 24 months of the merger’s close, driven by corporate and operational overhead savings. The combined company projects Net Debt to LTM Adjusted EBITDA of roughly 2.5x and Net Debt to Enterprise Value of less than 15%, and intends to keep a regular quarterly dividend in line with the post-merger rate of $0.26 per common share declared in the first quarter of 2026. The combined company will remain committed to maintaining investment grade credit ratings.
Our new headquarters establishes a strategic hub in the heart of the U.S. South, combining a thriving business ecosystem with proximity to a significant portion of our landholdings.
Mark McHugh, President and CEO of Rayonier, in the company’s announcement of the Buckhead lease.
Leadership and Pay Behind the Move
Mark McHugh, who was President and CEO of Rayonier before the merger, continues as President and CEO of the combined company. His four-year employment agreement, detailed in the SEC filing that closed the merger, sets a base salary of $950,000, a target annual cash bonus of 150% of base, and annual long-term incentive awards with a target grant date fair value of $3,600,000.
Eric Cremers, formerly President and CEO of PotlatchDeltic, is Executive Chairman of the Board for 24 months after closing. His letter agreement sets a $600,000 annual base salary, a target cash bonus of 125% of base, and long-term incentive awards with a target grant date value equal to 300% of his base salary beginning in fiscal 2027. He also receives a one-time lump sum cash payment of $6,728,305 in lieu of severance under PotlatchDeltic’s program.
Wayne Wasechek, PotlatchDeltic’s former CFO, is Executive Vice President and CFO of the combined company, with a target base salary of $535,000, a 100% bonus target, and long-term incentive awards with a target grant date fair value of $975,000. Rhett Rogers, formerly SVP of Portfolio Management at Rayonier, serves as EVP of Land Resources. Ashlee Townsend Cribb, formerly VP of Wood Products at PotlatchDeltic, is EVP of Wood Products. Mark R. Bridwell continues as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary.
- Mark D. McHugh, President and Chief Executive Officer
- Eric J. Cremers, Executive Chairman
- Wayne Wasechek, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
- W. Rhett Rogers, Executive Vice President, Land Resources
- Ashlee Townsend Cribb, Executive Vice President, Wood Products
- Mark R. Bridwell, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
The Buckhead Lease Was Signed in June
Terminus 100 sits at 3280 Peachtree Road in Buckhead’s financial district, a corridor that has worked through a soft leasing market in recent years. The Rayonier lease adds a high-profile corporate anchor to that submarket.
The Cousins Properties building, per the Terminus 100 tower profile, carries 590,000 square feet of total office space, 70,000 square feet of ground-level retail, floor plates of 24,259 square feet, and 27 floors. It is part of the larger Terminus mixed-use development on the corner of Peachtree and Piedmont roads. The Rayonier lease takes the building to roughly 85% leased.
Rayonier’s 36,000-square-foot footprint is small by Class-A Buckhead standards but enough to consolidate the corporate staff the merged company now identifies with Atlanta. JLL will continue to manage the build-out, with ASD|SKY on interiors and rand* construction as general contractor. Cousins’ Jeff Dils and Cameron Bloodworth brokered the deal for the landlord, while JLL’s Ryanne Pennington and Brennan Koslow represented Rayonier. The combined company will keep regional offices in Spokane and in Wildlight, but Atlanta is now the corporate center.
The new headquarters is expected to open in the first quarter of 2027.
