M&A

What’s driving forestry’s M&A trend and who stands to gain the most?

Politicians and farming advocacy groups have slammed the acquisition of Rushy Lagoon by Gresham House, Aviva Investors, and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, but Gresham House’s CIO says the criticism is unwarranted.

The area of land traded in Australia increased significantly in 2025, but the total value slipped, with large parcels sold in cheaper regions.

The firm has not disclosed a fundraising target for the strategy. Solum closed Fund II on $850m in 2023.

The newly formed Maharlika Investment Corporation has up to $240m it can allocate toward food and agriculture between 2026 and 2028.

Orchard co-founder Scott Pasquini thinks the continuation vehicle market could grow as much as four times its current size, as GPs look to unshackle themselves from the timeline constraints of closed-end fund structures..

The combined entity will have approximately $8bn in timberland assets under management and more than two million acres of forestry.

The firm raised the figure over a four-month period and follows on from its $425m Fund I, which exceeded its $350m target.

E2P’s Ryan Schweet: 'There wasn’t a rigid timeline. We hit our operational goals faster than we planned.'

The infrastructure specialist has acquired SuperFreeze Singapore as the first step in its build-out of a regional platform.