Seattle Firm Buys Land in Southeast for $1.1B

RICHMOND, VA-Plum Creek Timber Co. of Seattle has inked a definitive agreement to acquire all of MeadWestvaco Corp.'s U.S. forestland holdings for $1.1 billion.

The forestland acquisition involves approximately 501,000 acres in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia, for a purchase price of $934 million. MeadWestvaco of Richmond, VA will retain full ownership of its oil and natural gas rights on approximately 191,000 acres of land in West Virginia that are located over the Marcellus Shale fairway.

According to a company announcement released on Monday, Plum Creek will also invest in a newly formed partnership comprised of MeadWestvaco's approximately 109,000 acres of diversified development lands in the Charleston, S.C., region. Plum Creek will acquire, for approximately $152 million in cash, an ownership interest in the partnership, placing an implied value of the partnership at approximately $530 million, company officials state.

Subsurface rights, mineral rights and wind power assets associated with the timberlands were acquired for $65 million by Plum Creek, according to the Saporta Report.

“This transaction adds significant assets to our existing timber resource base and is expected to be cash flow accretive in the first 12 months,” says Rick Holley, Plum Creek's chief executive officer. “It also expands our portfolios of high-value rural land and non-timber resources.” See story in the Seporta Report.