Aquila acquires Finnish forest asset

Aquila Capital, the German fund manager, has acquired a 3,000 hectare forest in Finland for its global timber portfolio.

It is the second investment for Aquila’s Institutional Global Timber Fund, which is tailored for institutional LPs. The fund, which launched in 2013, is still open and the firm would not disclose its size but told Agri Investor that its investor base is primarily German institutions.

The new forestry investment will be managed by UPM, the second largest forest owner in Finland and comprises of 70 percent pine and 30 percent spruce.

Aquila’s $100 million timber portfolio is managed through three vehicles, Aquila WaldINVEST I, Aquila WaldINVEST III and Aquila Institutional Global Timber Fund. The WaldINVEST funds were launched in 2007, 2008 and 2010 respectively and target retail investors.

The firm manages $2.3 billion across multiple alternative asset classes and is currently still in the process of fundraising for an Australian dairy fund which was expected to close at the end of September.