Gresham House is acquiring a majority interest in US timberland investment manager Molpus Woodlands.
The transaction marks the first US corporate acquisition for specialist alternatives manager Gresham House, combining the firm’s $5bn (€4.4bn) of forestry assets under management (AUM) with the $3bn forestry AUM of Mississippi-based Molpus Woodlands.
Together, the firms will form the third-largest timberland investment manager globally by AUM, managing over 2.2m acres with operations spanning the UK, Ireland, US, Australia and New Zealand, Gresham House said.
Financial details were undisclosed.
The existing leadership team of Molpus Woodlands, comprising Terrell Winstead, Michael Cooper, George Dahduh, Tyler Rosamond, Chad McElvany and Ashley Harris will continue to lead operations in the US. They will also join the Gresham House’s global executive management team and investment committees for the enlarged forestry platform alongside members of the Gresham House executive team.
Tony Dalwood, chief executive officer of Gresham House, said: ”The acquisition of Molpus Woodlands Group will significantly expand our global client offering and deepen our investment and operational capabilities. The combined business will provide an exciting opportunity for our investors to gain exposure to the US market in key areas like timberland, afforestation, reforestation, carbon credits and land optimisation.
“The Molpus team is an ideal complement to our core values, deeply entrenched culture, and leading sustainable investment strategies, including energy transition and infrastructure, where we are market leaders.”
Dalwood added that as natural capital increasingly becomes a component of global asset allocation, “we seek to continue to build a differentiated, global platform with the necessary scale, capability and ambition to support our clients’ evolving needs”.
Winstead, president of Molpus Woodlands, said: “We are excited to join the Gresham House team. From the outset, it has been clear that there is a strong alignment of cultures, vision and ambition between our two organisations.
“We look forward to working together to capture the opportunity of this growing asset class. By combining our strengths, we seek to create a platform with the scale, depth of expertise and long-term mindset that should position us to deliver even greater value for our clients and to create meaningful opportunities for our teams.”
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