International Paper to Sell Forestlands for $6.1 Bln
International Paper Co., North America's biggest paper maker, agreed to sell 5.1 million acres of forestlands in the U.S. to two investor groups for about $6.1 billion.
array('c', "A group led by Resource Management Service LLC will buy 3.8 million acres in southern states and 440,000 acres in Michigan for $5 billion in cash and notes, Stamford, Connecticut-based International Paper said today in a statement. A group led by TimberStar will buy 900,000 acres in Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas for $1.1 billion in cash and notes.International Paper said the transaction may be the largest private forestland sale in U.S. history. The company is focusing on its paper and box business after unveiling plans in July to shed as much as $10 billion of assets, including timberlands. The company in February reported a loss of $77 million for the fourth quarter, compared with net income of $169 million a year earlier, on restructuring expenses and increased energy costs.``These agreements for the sale of forestlands at very attractive valuations are important steps forward in our plan to increase our focus and improve returns to shareowners,'' International Paper Chief Executive Officer John Faraci said in the statement.SharesShares of International Paper rose 15 cents to $34.72 yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Before today, the stock had fallen 4.5 percent in the past year.Pension funds including Harvard University, the Massachusetts state pension fund and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation boosted their stakes in timberland last year as they sought an asset whose returns weren't affected by the vagaries of stock and bond markets.Universities, insurers, wealthy individuals and public pension funds had about $12 billion invested in timberland at the end of 2003, according to Clark Binkley, chief investment officer of Boston-based Hancock Timber Resource Group, a unit of John Hancock Financial Services Inc. Assets have grown by 20 percent a year since the mid-1980s, he said. ")
