By Gerelyn Terzo, Global AgInvesting Media
In a landmark move for Latin American timberland, BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG), a powerhouse in timberland investing, and Canada’s British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) have launched a massive $700 million platform focused on Southern Brazil. The project covers roughly 100,000 hectares (247,105 acres) of sustainably managed pine and eucalyptus plantations in Brazil’s Paraná state, known in part for its vast forestry regions, where it will bolster BTG Pactual TIG’s existing footprint.
The investment demonstrates the growing appeal of timberland for institutional investors seeking competitive, long-term risk-adjusted returns, inflation protection, and portfolio diversification amid a focus on environmental and social outcomes. As part of the deal, BTG and BCI brought in Klabin, Brazil’s biggest producer and exporter of packaging paper, as a strategic partner. The venture ranks among the largest timberland projects in Latin America, highlighting both the sector’s growth potential and the emphasis on sustainable forest management.
Brazil’s forest restoration market is emerging as a high-return frontier, with the potential to unlock as much as $141 billion in value by 2050, according to a Climate Advisers/Orbitas report. Restoration projects could yield a potential internal rate of return (IRR) of up to 169 percent, the report suggests, alongside the removal of nearly 451 million tons of carbon dioxide annually by 2050.
Of the investment platform, Gerrity Lansing, Managing Director and Partner at BTG Pactual, Head of Global Alternatives and the Timberland Investment Group, stated, “This transaction marks an important step in our long term strategy to invest in sustainably managed timberland in Brazil. It expands our presence in Paraná—a strategically important region for forestry in the country—and reflects our commitment to building scalable platforms alongside long term institutional partners like BCI and strategic partners like Klabin, whose deep industry knowledge adds meaningful value.”
Klabin Finance Chief Marcos Paulo Conde Ivo commented, “Collaborating with BTG Pactual TIG and BCI on this investment reflects Klabin’s ongoing engagement to sustainable forestry and responsible stewardship and reinforces Klabin’s commitment to disciplined capital allocation and deleveraging, consolidating the creation of sustainable value for all its stakeholders.”
Lincoln Webb, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Infrastructure & Renewable Resources at BCI, said, “We are pleased to expand our partnership with BTG Pactual TIG through this strategic investment. This transaction reflects the opportunity we see in high quality, sustainably managed timberland assets. Working alongside experienced partners such as TIG and Klabin supports our objective of delivering long term, risk adjusted returns for our clients.”
The platform will align with Klabin’s 2030 Agenda and use TIG’s sustainability infrastructure to manage the assets in ways that aim to deliver both financial returns and positive environmental and social impacts. For their part, BTG and BCI have a proven track record of collaboration in North America’s timber sector. In early 2022, they created Caddo Sustainable Timberlands, a platform with about 772,000 acres of Sustainable Forestry Initiative-certified timberlands in East Texas and West Louisiana. High-profile customers of that initiative include Georgia Pacific and International Paper.
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