STAND: GROWING NATURAL CAPITAL
FOR LONG-TERM VALUE
Since acquiring PF Olsen in 2022, Quayside has viewed the business as a high quality platform with strong market presence, deep industry relationships and significant long-term growth potential. From the outset, Quayside recognised that scale and strategic partnerships would be important to unlocking the full value of the investment and strengthening its position in a rapidly evolving forestry and natural capital sector.
The merger of PF Olsen and Forest360, supported by Adamantem Capital’s Environmental Opportunities Fund, is the result of that strategy. The transaction transforms PF Olsen from a successful forestry services business into a larger, more capable platform with greater scale, enhanced governance, broader service offerings and improved access to growth capital.
The newly formed Stand is now Australasia’s largest independent forestry management company, bringing together more than 75 years of experience, over 200 forestry professionals and approximately 480,000 hectares of forestry under management across New Zealand and Australia.
For Quayside, the merger is about creating long-term value from an investment we have backed with conviction since 2022. We believe the combination positions the business to capitalise on emerging opportunities across forestry, carbon markets and the broader natural capital sector, while building a more resilient platform capable of delivering sustainable growth over the long term.
PF Olsen and Forest360 merger
The merger of PF Olsen and Forest360 was announced in late 2025, supported by Adamantem Capital’s Environmental Opportunities Fund, alongside Quayside as PF Olsen’s cornerstone investor.
The transaction brought together two established New Zealand forestry businesses with complementary strengths. It created a single platform with deeper operational capability, a broader service offering and a stronger base from which to grow across New Zealand and Australia.
It also simplified PF Olsen’s previous ownership structure, with over 90 shareholders, into a new co-owned structure with clearer governance, better aligned incentives and access to capital to support growth.
The transaction was recognised at the May 2026 INFINZ Awards, where the Forest360 and PF Olsen merger won the BDO Mid Market M&A Transaction of the Year. For Quayside, that recognition reflected the complexity of the transaction and the disciplined execution required to align strategic and financial objectives while protecting long-term investment interests.
Stand: growing natural capital for good
The June 2026 launch of Stand marked the point where the merger became visible as a single business, name and identity together. The name carries meaning. In forestry, a stand is a unit of trees. It also speaks to taking a position and standing for something. For Stand, that position is clear: forestry with purpose, growing natural capital for good.
The business positions itself as Australasia’s most experienced and commercially astute forestry team, providing an integrated seed-to-sale consulting and management solution to investors, owners and managers of forestry assets. That proposition reflects a broader shift underway across the sector.
Forestry is no longer defined solely by harvest volumes and traditional forest management. Carbon, biodiversity, environmental resilience and responsible land use are becoming increasingly important drivers of value. As landowners and investors look to optimise the full potential of their assets, Stand is positioning itself at the centre of this transition, helping clients realise both financial and environmental outcomes from natural capital.
To do this, the business combines deep forestry expertise with advanced technology and an integrative stewardship approach. Across New Zealand and Australia, its people apply technical capability, commercial discipline and practical experience to ensure every hectare of land is optimised for its natural potential.
Combining two former competitors gives Stand more depth than either had alone: shared capability, people and culture within a single platform. For clients, that means continuity and confidence, along with access to a wider pool of expertise without losing local knowledge.
That breadth also helps the business through market cycles. Forestry continues to be influenced by fluctuating demand, freight costs, fuel prices and international market conditions. A broader base provides greater resilience while enabling continued investment in people, science, technology and innovation.
Carbon represents one of the most significant growth opportunities ahead. Stand is expanding its carbon consulting capability across New Zealand and Australia and has introduced a carbon joint venture model that enables farmers and landowners to partner with specialist Emissions Trading Scheme expertise. The business also sees growing opportunities across the wider natural capital landscape, where forestry, environmental stewardship and commercial outcomes increasingly intersect.
Aligned for the long term
For Quayside, the appeal is the alignment: commercial performance, environmental stewardship and a capital partner built for the transition to net zero. Adamantem’s Environmental Opportunities Fund backs exactly that kind of growth. That fit is what makes the investment compelling.
