The Hancock Timber Resource Group is to increase its assets by nearly 25% through the acquisition of the timberland investment division of Prudential Financial Inc.
The deal, for an undisclosed sum, will see the transfer of about 450,000 acres of timberland from Prudential Timber Investments worth US$660m.
Assets include 235,000 acres in the southern US, more than 20,000 acres in Hawaii and nearly 150,000 acres in New Zealand. The addition of about 45,000 acres in Brazil also marks Hancock’s entry into South America.
The transaction, expected to be completed during the third quarter, brings Hancock’s total acreage and assets to about 2.5 million acres and US$3.1bn.
Dan Christensen, Hancock’s president, said: “In a global economy, we believe that having access to timber markets around the world will provide excellent long-term opportunities for our clients.”
