One of the world’s largest forest managers, Manulife Investment Management, has finalised the acquisition of 7,400 hectares of forestland in New South Wales on behalf of its Manulife Forest Climate Fund. Wood Central understands that the latest purchase, made on behalf of the Manuflife Forest Climate Fund, adds about 5,000 hectares of radiata pine plantations to its portfolio.
The deal encompasses four contiguous properties in the Murray Valley region between Albury and Tumbarumba and includes two registered forest carbon projects under Australia’s Carbon Credit Unit program. The ACU program incentivises landowners to sequester or avoid greenhouse gases, creating a growing revenue stream through the sale of carbon credits. With this transaction, Manulife IM’s managed forests in Australia now surpass 460,000 hectares, including its prized HQ Plantations and HVP Plantation assets in Queensland and Victoria.
Radiata pine is Australia’s most widely planted timber species, prized for its fast growth, straight grain and versatility in construction, pulp and paper manufacturing. Many institutional investors are increasing their allocations to timberland assets due to their steady cash flows, inflation protection, and environmental benefits, making plantations like these highly sought after.
The assets were purchased from New Forests, which held the properties as part of its Australian New Zealand Forestry Fund 2 (ANZFF2) divestment strategy. New Forests is reallocating capital ahead of launching its next-generation forestry fund, which focuses on sustainability metrics and a diversified species mix.
“Our team has 27 years of experience managing timberland investments in Australia on behalf of clients,” said Tom Sarno, global head of timberland investments at Manulife IM. “The assets, which are Manulife Forest Climate Fund’s first international timberland investment, are attractively stocked with a mix of mature and young radiata pine plantations, and close to well-established timber markets and leading Australian producers of forest products.”
“We look forward to managing the property to generate timber, forest carbon and other natural capital values,” Sarno said, highlighting the dual opportunity for lumber production and ongoing carbon sequestration under the ACU framework.
As it stands, Manulife Investment Management now oversees 2.26 million hectares of timberland across the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil and Chile. To learn more about Manulife’s investment strategy, including it’s $16 billion bet on global forestry, click here for Wood Central’s special feature.
