Deals

Georgia forestry firm acquires international portfolio

F&W Forestry Services has bought more than half a million acres of timberland across the US, Canada and UK, as well as snapping up three real estate and forestry management companies.

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Georgia-based forest consulting and management firm F&W Forestry Services has acquired 35,000 acres of forest and other land in North America and the UK from Outsourced Client Solutions (OCS), an international facilities general services provider.

Headquartered in Georgia, F&W Forestry manages more than 1.6 million acres of forest and woodland in the US, Uruguay, Brazil and France, as well as providing timber sales, consulting and forestry real estate services.

The acquisition was made through buying several OCS subsidiaries, including one UK and two US forest and real estate companies: Fountains Forestry, Fountain Lands and Fountains Forestry UK. These assets come with access to market information and expertise, controlling more than 535,000 acres of forest and woodland between them. Managed titles are spread across twelve Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic States, Ontario, and the UK’s England, Scotland and Wales.

F&W Forestry representatives said there will be no changes to staff or management, with its president Marshall Thomas adding that similar operations and geographies meant there was “a tremendous amount of synergy” between the three companies and with F&W Forestry.

OCS acquired the forestry operations in 2012. Companies such as Dyson in the UK have acquired large tracts of agricultural and forest, investments that can ultimately help corporations save on tax.