Weyerhaeuser exits Twin Creeks Timber venture

Weyerhaeuser has sold off its interest in the Twin Creeks Timber, LLC venture for $107.5 million in cash, the company reported today. 

The forest and building products giant has also agreed to sell 100,000 acres of southern timberlands to Twin Creeks for $202.5 million, which includes 80,000 acres in Mississippi and 20,000 acres in Georgia. The deal expected to close by the end of 2017.

Under terms of the deal, Weyerhaeuser is terminating its agreement to manage Twin Creeks timberlands effective Dec. 31.

"Through these transactions, we are simplifying our operations to focus on management of our own timberlands while continuing to strategically optimize our timberland portfolio," Doyle R. Simons, Weyerhaeuser president and CEO, said in a prepared statement.

The Twin Creeks joint venture was formed as partnership between the Plum Creek Timber Company and several investment firms. Weyerhaeuser assumed a stake in the partnership after it acquired Plum Creek Timber in February 2016.

Based in Seattle, Weyerhaeuser is one of the largest global forest products and building products manufacturers. The company owns nearly 13 million acres of timberlands and generated net sales of $6.4 billion in 2016.