The 1.88 million acre timberland portfolio of Forest Capital Partners has been purchased by the Hancock Timber Resource Group and Molpus Woodlands Group, the companies announced last week.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Molpus is acquiring 286,000 acres in Minnesota, 110,000 acres in Louisiana and 138,000 acres in Idaho. Hancock Timber is acquiring 376,000 acres in Louisiana, 573,000 acres in Oregon, 138,000 acres in Idaho and 264,000 acres in Washington.
As part of the transaction, the vast majority of Forest Capital Partners’ employees associated with the timberlands will be merged into operations of the respective new managers, the Hancock Timber Resource Group or the Molpus Woodlands Group.
“This portfolio's timberlands are intensively managed, highly productive, and ideally situated near timber markets with competitive pricing. With the opportunity to partner on this transaction, we are able to provide key assets to our clients, which we will oversee from new forestry offices in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and International Falls, Minn.,” said Molpus Woodlands Group President Dick Molpus in a statement. “We continue to be committed to the sound forestry stewardship practices historically associated with these properties. We will keep our focus on client objectives, and we look forward to working with new colleagues, employing innovative management and technologies towards sustainable forestry.”
Michael Cooper, Molpus Woodlands Group spokesman, told The Journal that for vendors and customers, it will “be business as usual to the local community for all intents and purposes.”
“Forest Capital employees in International Falls transferred to our company as well, so people will deal with the same people they dealt with yesterday and the day before,” Cooper said. “We’re excited about our new employees and their transition over to our company and believe it will be mutually beneficial to them as well as us. We’re excited about retaining them and the institutional knowledge they have in the area.”
Cooper said he did not believe that Molpus would change anything regarding vendors and shack leases that was in place under Forest Capital’s ownership.
“We’re excited about the Minnesota area,” said Cooper. “Everything we hear from all the people we talk to say what a tremendous community this is and there is a lot of synergy for management and we couldn’t be more happy to be in the community.”
Meanwhile, Forest Capital Partners co-president Matt Donegan said the transaction “is a highly innovative outcome for both our investors and our employees, and provides continued outstanding stewardship for the forests and forest communities alike.”
Forest Capital Partners co-president Scott Jones echoed Donegan’s thoughts. “We are very pleased to complete this transaction and ensure a smooth transition for our employees who will continue to diligently manage these forests,” he said.
He added that a small number of senior staff will remain with Forest Capital Partners to manage oil and gas assets retained on approximately 250,000 acres in Louisiana and to develop other opportunities.
Christensen and Molpus said that all of Forest Capital Partners’ timberlands are third-party certified as sustainably managed and that both organizations intend to maintain the certification.
The Molpus Woodlands Group, LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor, was founded in 1996 as a Timber Investment Management Organization and has a company legacy dating back to 1905. With its sister operating company, Molpus Timberlands Management, LLC (collectively, Molpus), Molpus is one of the oldest timber-related companies in the nation, with experience in all facets of timber management, manufacturing, and marketing.
Molpus is one of the few TIMOs that have all of their core businesses and forestry functions handled or supervised by in-house experts.
Molpus employs 78 people in its 15 offices located in Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, and Oklahoma. Molpus acquires, manages, and sells timberland as an investment vehicle for pension funds, college endowments, foundations, insurance companies, and high net-worth individual investors.
Molpus Woodlands Group was selected as 2011 Real Asset Manager of the Year at the Money Management Intelligence magazine's 11th Annual Public Pension Fund Awards. The company focuses on ensuring long-term optimal cash returns on investments while practicing responsible forest stewardship. Molpus currently manages approximately 1.5 million acres of timberland investments located in seventeen states. For more information, visit http://www.molpus.com.
