Brazil’s Suzano buys forestry assets for $376 million By Reuters

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazilian pulp and paper company Suzano has acquired certain forestry assets from two special-purpose firms managed by BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group, according to a securities filing.

The deal was valued at 1.826 billion reais ($375.7 million) and requires regulatory approval, Suzano said in the filing late on Saturday.

The target companies own approximately 70,000 hectares of land in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, in a region where Suzano already has operations. Some 50,000 hectares of the acquired land are considered “usable,” Suzano said, adding that the area is planted with eucalyptus trees of varying ages.

The transaction takes place only days after rival Klabin announced the acquisition of land and forests in Parana state from a Chilean seller, for $1.16 billion. That deal took the market by surprise and aims to reduce dependence on third-party wood.

Suzano will pay the agreed value in cash on the deal’s closing date in 2024. The amount will be converted into dollars if the transaction closes after March 31, it added.

The acquisition price may be adjusted to reflect the condition of the targeted assets at the closing date, as is customary in this type of operation, Suzano said.

In a separate filing on Saturday, Suzano raised its investment projection for 2024 from 14.6 billion reais to 16.5 billion reais.

($1 = 4.8605 reais)