ATLANTA, Georgia -- CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc. says it has closed on its single, largest timberlands purchase since its listing on the NYSE -- the acquisition of 51,700 acres of prime timberlands in South Carolina for $100.7 million, excluding closing costs, in an off-market transaction from funds managed by Forest Investment Associates.


The acquisition of the Carolinas Midlands III timberlands expands the company's total acreage in the U.S. South to 480,400 acres and adds approximately 2.1 million tons to CatchMark's merchantable inventory and 250,000 to 300,000 tons (4.8 to 5.8 tons per acre) per year to CatchMark's harvest over the next decade.


Carolinas Midlands III timberlands also increase CatchMark's acreage in North Carolina and South Carolina from 17,600 to 69,300 acres, providing synergies in pricing power, haul distances, management and land sales.

The transaction was financed through CatchMark's multi-draw term loan.

Headquartered in Atlanta, CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc. is a self-administered and self-managed publicly traded REIT that began operations in 2007 and owns interests in approximately 428,700 acres of timberland located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.