Deals

Strong markets encourage Timbervest to sell 20,000 acres – update

The institutional fund manager raised $33.9m from the sale of forest properties in Georgia and Pennslyvania from Timbervest Partners I.

-

Asset manager Timbervest has sold nearly 20,000 acres of timberland in Georgia and Pennsylvania from its Timbervest Partners I (TVP I) fund for $33.9 million as good conditions for sales continue to promote a busy timberland transactions market.

“We are excited to be able to take advantage of strengthening markets to sell certain properties and complete these high-value transactions,” said Bill Boden, managing partner, Timbervest. “We are currently evaluating other sales and purchases for our funds and matching investors with profitable investment opportunities.”

A 10- year fund, TVP I closed on $231 million in 2005 and is now winding down, according to Boden. It has a three year extension that it can use to sell off around $100 million of remaining assets if needed, he told Agri Investor.

The Georgia property, which Timbervest owned for seven years, comprised 18,500 acres in Stewart County and was sold to another institutional timber investment group that was attracted by its “superior wood product mix”, according to a press release.

The Pennsylvania property, some 1,134 acres across Franklin and Green counties, was sold to a “conservation-themed institutional investor”, according to the release. It was bought in 2007 with this type of sale in mind due to its proximity to the Michaux State Park, according to Boden. And Timbervest improved the property’s access and aesthetics during ownership, which helped it sell at a “recreational price point”. This is a good example of the fund’s investment thesis and strategy: to identify a buyer before purchasing a property, according to Boden.

Atlanta-based Timbervest currently manages more than 600,000 acres of timberland, timber-related assets and other real estate investments with a market value of more than $1.4 billion across six funds; TVP 2 and TVP 3 closed on $375 million in 2009 and $410 million in 2013 respectively. Timbervest’s other fund series, Crossover Assets Investments, invests into environmental and conservation assets. Timbervest Crossover Partners II raised and invested $250 million by May 2011 and Timbervest Crossover Partners III raised $31.8 million from a single client.

These funds invest into habitat conservation., wetland mitigation, stream mitigation, fish conversation and more.