Finland’s UB Nordic Forest Management, the forestry management arm of investment bank United Bankers, is planning to launch a second timberland fund during the first quarter of next year.
Nordic Forest Fund I closed on €35 million at the end of November and has now deployed €30 million, mostly recently with the acquisition of 3,500 hectares of forestland from UPM, the Finnish forestry and energy company.
Fund I also has €15 million in bank debt to deploy before reaching full deployment, according to Mikael Beck, managing director, Nordic Forest Fund.
Fund II will target a much larger fund raise of around €200 million, he added.
Fund I attracted local pension funds and trusts with assets under management of between €200 million and €1 billion, and while Beck expects to get similar demand in Fund II, he also expects some other European investors will commit in the wake of United Bankers starting operations in Sweden in 2015.
As a reference fund, Fund I has helped UB Nordic to identify investment opportunities and “enhances its capabilities” for Fund II, according to Beck.
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