ATLANTA, Oct. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CatchMark
Timber Trust, Inc. (NYSE: CTT) announced today an agreement to
acquire 14,923 acres of prime timberlands near the southeast coast
of Georgia for $43.3 million, excluding closing costs. The
to-be-acquired timberlands in Long
and McIntosh counties, the Coastal
Georgia Acquisition, will expand CatchMark's positioning in one of
the most competitive wood baskets of the U.S. South, increasing its
regional holdings by 36%. Closing of the Coastal Georgia
transaction is expected by the end of the year.
Jerry Barag, CatchMark's
President and CEO, said: "This acquisition will not only provide
synergies in pricing power, haul distances, and management, but
also will meet CatchMark's objectives for continuing to establish
the highest quality timberland portfolio in the industry. In
particular, we will benefit from the enhanced merchantability of
our harvests to a significant number of local mill customers within
a 60-mile radius and a favorable supply agreement. Most
importantly, the superior stocking and premier growing conditions
on these plantations also meet our criteria and targets for
producing durable earnings for our shareholders."
The Coastal Georgia Acquisition includes 72% pine plantations
with stocking of 81 tons per acre. Approximately 92% of the
inventory volume is pine and 65% of the inventory volume is
chip-n-saw or sawtimber. The transaction's harvest productivity is
expected to be 7.6 tons per acre per year, adding approximately
110,000 tons per year to CatchMark's harvest over the next
decade.
CatchMark today also announced that earlier this week the
company closed on the purchase of 4,641 acres of premier
timberlands located in southeastern South
Carolina (Colleton
County)—the Carolina Midlands V Acquisition—for $10.9 million, exclusive of closing costs.
Carolina Midlands V comprises high-quality, heavily-stocked
southern pine timberlands close to strong coastal mill and export
markets. Based on current estimates, the Carolina Midlands V tracts
contain approximately 224,000 tons of merchantable timber,
comprised of 94% pine plantations or convertible natural pine
stands by acreage and 65% chip-n-saw or sawtimber by tons.
Barag said: "Carolina Midlands V adds extremely high-quality
sites to our existing South
Carolina timberlands with the acquisition's stocking
averaging 47 tons per acre. Again, this transaction meets
CatchMark's stringent criteria for building the highest quality
timberlands portfolio in the industry."
The Carolina Midlands V transaction was funded through
CatchMark's multi-draw term credit facility.
About CatchMark
CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc. (NYSE: CTT) is a self-administered
and self-managed, publicly-traded REIT that strives to deliver
superior risk-adjusted returns for all stakeholders through
disciplined acquisitions, sustainable harvests and well-timed
sales. Headquartered in Atlanta
and focused exclusively on timberland ownership, CatchMark began
operations in 2007 and owns interests in approximately 502,600
acres* of timberland located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North
Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee and Texas. For more information, visit
www.catchmark.com. From time to time, CatchMark releases
important information via postings on its corporate website.
Accordingly, investors and other interested parties are encouraged
to enroll to receive automatic email alerts regarding new postings.
Enrollment information is found in the "Investors Relations"
section of www.catchmark.com.
* As of June 30, 2017.
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SOURCE CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc.