CANADA (News release) -- Western Forest Products Inc. ("Western") and Eastwood Forests, LLC announced that Western has completed the sale of approximately 14,500 hectares of fee simple land on northern Vancouver Island in British Columbia ("BC"), Canada to a Canadian affiliate of the Eastwood Climate Smart Forestry Fund I LP for $69.2 million.

"Eastwood has a dedicated focus on delivering climate benefits by supporting responsible forest management globally and we believe they will be excellent stewards of this land and partners in the region," said Steven Hofer, President and CEO of Western. "The sale reflects our ongoing focus on optimizing and investing in our BC operations. We plan to use the sale proceeds to reduce our debt and support our accelerated transition to higher value products manufacturing, including the previously announced continuous kiln investments in BC."

"This Vancouver Island forestland fits perfectly with Eastwood's interest and experience in sustainable forest management and climate change mitigation, balancing forest conservation with the economic wellbeing of the region," said Alex Finkral, CEO of Eastwood. "We are committed to fostering relationships with local First Nations, businesses and communities to create positive ecological and economic outcomes for British Columbia and beyond."

Western is an integrated forest products company building a margin-focused log and lumber business to compete successfully in global softwood markets. Western has a lumber capacity of 780 million board feet from six sawmills, as well as operates four remanufacturing facilities and two glulam manufacturing facilities.

Eastwood is a company dedicated to forestland investments and specializes in sourcing forestland investments that meet high environmental and social standards.