The Nature Conservancy and Finch Paper announce Adirondack woodlands transaction

Jun 19, 2007. /Lesprom Network/. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and paper manufacturer Finch Paper Holdings LLC announced on June 18, 2007 that TNC has purchased all 161 000 acres of Finch's forestland in the Adirondacks. The transaction includes an historic 20-year Working Forest Agreement that will ensure a fiber supply to the Glens Falls mill and continue to support the jobs associated with timber harvesting. The Nature Conservancy, a non-profit conservation group that has been working locally in the Adirondacks for 36 years, purchased the 161 000-acre property for $110 million, or $683/acre. The purchase was financed in part through loans from the Open Space Conservancy, the land acquisition affiliate of the Open Space Institute, and from John Hancock Life Insurance Company. TNC will launch a major private fundraising campaign for this landmark purchase. The land sale was made concurrently with the close of Finch Paper Holdings LLC's acquisition of Finch, Pruyn & Co., Inc. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a leading international, non-profit organization working to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. Finch Paper Holdings, LLC, acquired the assets of Finch, Pruyn & Co., Inc. in June 2007. The predecessor company was founded in 1865 as a sawmill, lumberyard and quarry operation on the Upper Hudson River in upstate Glens Falls, NY, and began papermaking operations in 1905. Today, with approximately 850 employees, the company is a leader in the premium uncoated printing paper market, manufacturing more than 250 000 tonnes per year for advertising materials, book publishing and business office uses from its single Glens Falls mill. Finch Paper Holdings LLC is owned by an investor group led by Atlas Holdings LLC and Blue Wolf Capital Management LLC.