Jackson, Mississippi—The Molpus Woodlands Group, LLC (Molpus), a timberland investment management organization headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, has, on behalf of a client, successfully purchased approximately 117,773 acres of timberland in east Texas and northwest Louisiana from clients of Manulife Investment Management.
Located in eight counties in east Texas and eight parishes in northwest Louisiana, the property consists of well-managed, high-quality timberlands with over 75 years of commercial management. With a large inventory of quality timber, Molpus believes these properties provide an opportunity for steady and significant cash flow due to the access to broad timber markets representing a diverse spectrum of pulp, paper, lumber, and panel producers across this region. Molpus’s vertically integrated management team will be responsible for the management of the timberlands, including volume commitments under beneficial long-term supply agreements and opportunistic open market timber sales.
Molpus plans to include these timberlands in its certification with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® standard, which includes key measures to protect biodiversity, sustainable harvest levels, water quality, protection of at-risk species, wildlife habitat, and regeneration. Molpus’s forest certification program is a key element of its commitment to incorporating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies and practices into investment analysis and decision-making.
“Timberlands have historically provided attractive returns and cash yields while providing steady biological growth in the trees and a positive correlation to inflation,” said Bob Lyle, President of Molpus. “We intend to continue our proven sustainable forest management practices with these properties, while seeking new and creative opportunities to maximize the investment’s long-term return potential.”
“As a long-time timberland manager in the states of Louisiana and Texas, we are pleased to add these properties to areas where we already have a strong presence,” said Ken Sewell, Chief Operating Officer of Molpus. “We look forward to using our existing expertise in managing these high-quality assets as long-term, timber investments for our client while incorporating our history of forest sustainability and stewardship.”
About Molpus
The Molpus Woodlands Group, LLC (Molpus) acquires, manages, and sells timberland as an investment vehicle for pension funds, college endowments, foundations, insurance companies, and high-net-worth individual investors. Molpus currently manages approximately 1.7 million acres of timberland investments in 15 states. Molpus incorporates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies and practices into investment analysis and decision-making. Molpus believes its strong ESG performance has positive implications for the environment and the future of Molpus. Molpus was founded in 1996 as a timber investment management organization (TIMO) and has a company legacy dating back to 1905. Molpus is one of the oldest timber-related companies in the United States.
