News Desk

$6.1 billion for Forestland?

International Paper announced on April 4 that it had come to terms with two investor groups to sell 5.1 million acres of forestlands for approximately $6.1 billion in cash and notes. Proceeds from these sales and ones to the Nature Conservancy and the Conservation Fund in March (see IP Sells 218,000 Acres) total $6.5 billion and include roughly 5.4 million acres greater than the combined areas of Connecticut and Delaware. According to the company, these holdings comprise 85 percent of International Paper’s U.S. forestland.

The $6.1 billion price tag represents the largest private forestland sale in U.S. history and is consistent with the company’s plan to focus on uncoated papers and industrial and consumer packaging.

In the first sale, International Paper came to terms with an investor group led by Resource Management Service for approximately 3.8 million acres in the South and 440,000 acres in Michigan for $5 billion in cash and notes.

The second investor group, led by TimberStar, agreed to purchase approximately 900,000 acres in Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas for approximately $1.1 billion in cash and notes.

International Paper plans to retain additional holdings in the South but is still exploring the sale of approximately 300,000 acres, principally in New York.