CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc. announced an agreement to acquire 18,063 acres of prime Oregon timberlands for $88.8 million from Forest Investment Associates (FIA). The to-be-acquired timberlands — known as the Bandon Property — are strategically situated within the Douglas fir/western hemlock zone between the Coos Bay markets and Roseburg mills approximately 150 miles southwest of Portland.
CatchMark will fund the Bandon purchase, which is projected to close by the end of August, from a combination of cash on hand and borrowing under an amended credit facility expected to close in advance of the Bandon purchase. The amended facility increases total capacity by $75 million; right-sizes its multi-draw term loan to $200 million; and adds a new seven-year $140 million term loan to refinance existing debt under the multi-draw term loan. Including the pricing on the new term loan set to LIBOR + 1.7%, the all-in cost of debt (net of estimated patronage) is expected to be approximately 3.4%, based on the company's current leverage ratio, pricing grid, and floating/fixed debt mix.
Property management at Bandon will be handled by American Forest Management, which also manages CatchMark operations in the Carolinas and CatchMark's log/accounting settlement system.
CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc. is a self-administered and self-managed, publicly-traded timberland REIT that strives to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns for all stakeholders through disciplined acquisitions, sustainable harvests, and well-timed real estate sales.
