Harvard's Controversial Romanian Forest Sold to Ikea Group - Harvard Crimson
Harvard's 33,600-acre plot of forest in Romania has been sold to the Swedish furniture manufacturer Ikea, the company confirmed. The move distances Harvard from a corruption case involving one of the contractors who helped oversee the land, and comes shortly after a change in leadership at Harvard Management Company, which invests the University’s $35. 9 billion endowment. Operating through a subsidiary, HMC put the property up for sale after a former contractor, Dragos Lipan Secu, was arrested on bribery and money laundering charges in January 2014. Romanian authorities alleged that Secu committed the crimes while... A popular furniture retailer, Ikea’s new acquisition will give the company a local, renewable wood supply for furniture production, according to a press release dated July 16. “Through this acquisition Romania becomes the first country where the... HMC began purchasing timberland in 1997. It invested heavily in timber under the guidance of then-President and CEO Jane L. Mendillo, who resigned in 2014 after a tumultuous six-year stint as the head manager of Harvard’s endowment. Source: www.thecrimson.com
