CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc. 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.

Jerry Barag, CatchMark's President and CEO, said: "Carolinas Midlands III meets all the desirable attributes we seek in timberlands purchases to support our value proposition for assembling the highest quality holdings in the industry—location near high quality mill markets with a significant customer base, higher than average merchantable inventory to provide immediate cash flow to support distributions to our shareholders, and higher than average productivity per acre to secure durable earnings over long-term holds."

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.