Hancock Natural Resource Group and Masisa Form Forestry Company In Chile
SANTIAGO, CHILE (April 29, 2014)—Following the agreement between the U.S.-based Hancock Natural Resource Group (HNRG) and MASISA that was signed in March, today both companies have signed the relevant contracts by which MASISA will sell to HNRG 80 percent of its forestry holdings covering approximately 62,000 hectares of land, 32,500 hectares of which are planted mostly with radiata pine.
In order to implement the transaction, MASISA transferred the forestry assets located in the areas of Temuco and Valdivia in Chile into a new Chilean company, Hancock Chilean Plantations. HNRG subscribed for 80 percent of the shares of said company, while Masisa retained ownership of the remaining 20 percent. MASISA received US$ 204,460,310, corresponding to the previously reported purchase price plus any qualifying adjustments.
This transaction will provide Masisa with a current consolidated EBITDA estimated at US$ 143.1 million, a net consolidated loss estimated at US$ 6.6 million, and a distributable net income of US$ 114.5 million.
As part of this transaction Hancock Chilean Plantations and MASISA have signed a long-term contract to supply raw materials to the MASISA wood panel facilities in Chile.
MASISA and HNRG have also signed a shareholder agreement regulating their rights and obligations in Hancock Chilean Plantations, which will provide MASISA with an option to purchase in the event that HNRG should wish to sell its shares in the company.
According to the CEO of MASISA, Roberto Salas, “this agreement will allow us to finance our growth plan for 2014 and 2015, strengthen our financial profile and to add a partner with outstanding global experience in the investment and management of forestry assets, which means an important contribution to the overall development of MASISA.”
Salas also added: “with these funds we will finance projects that have attractive return rates and that will contribute to the improvement of the company´s return on investment.”
“We are very pleased to partner with Masisa on this joint venture. We look forward to working with them for years to come, as our organizations share the same high standards for forest management, safety and environmental stewardship,” said HNRG CEO Dan Christensen. “We also are very pleased to acquire these excellent and highly productive forest plantations that are well-suited to our investors’ objectives.”
About the Hancock Timber Resource Group
Hancock Natural Resource Group, Inc., with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, is a subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation. It manages approximately 2,600,000 hectares of timberland throughout the United States, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand and Australia on behalf of institutional investors globally. Additional information about Hancock Timber may be found at www.hancocktimber.com. All of the Hancock Timber Resource Group’s timberlands in the U.S. are managed by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Hancock Forest Management.