PotlatchDelticCorp. has entered an agreement to acquire Atlanta-based CatchMark Timber Trust Inc. in an all-stock deal valued at more than $919 million, the Spokane-based forest products company announced Tuesday.
The acquisition will “provide a platform for continued growth” and diversify PotlatchDeltic’s real estate portfolio as CatchMark’s timberlands are located close to large population centers, according to the company.
Following the acquisition, PotlatchDeltic will own about 2.2 million acres of timberlands, including 626,000 acres in Idaho and more than 1.5 million acres in the South, according to a company release.
“We plan to leverage our rural-land sales expertise and strategy, along with the CatchMark team’s local-market knowledge, to maximize rural real estate sales opportunities,” Eric Cremers, president and CEO of PotlatchDeltic, said Tuesday in a conference call with investors.
“Increasingly, we are seeing interest in natural-climate solution projects such as the attractive-solar transaction we closed in the first quarter.”
PotlatchDeltic’s headquarters will remain in Spokane. Cremers will continue to serve as the company’s president and CEO. The company plans to maintain a regional office in Atlanta.
The $919 million acquisition value is based on Friday’s closing stock prices for PotlatchDeltic and CatchMark.
Upon completion of the merger, the companies are expected to have a market capitalization of more than $4 billion, according to the PotlatchDeltic release.
Under the agreement, CatchMark stockholders will receive 0.23 shares of PotlatchDeltic stock for each CatchMark share they own.
Following close of the transaction, PotlatchDeltic shareholders will own 86% of the combined company.
The acquisition is expect close in the second half of 2022, subject to regulatory and CatchMark shareholder approval.
CatchMark’s merger with PotlatchDeltic provides value to shareholders and positions the company for long-term, sustainable success, Brian Davis, president and CEO of CatchMark, said in a statement.
“By joining together our high-quality assets and our dedicated and talented employees, we will greatly enhance the potential of PotlatchDeltic,” Davis said. “We look forward to working together as we integrate our two companies and capitalize on the robust opportunities for growth and success.”
PotlatchDeltic is a real estate investment trust that owns 1.8 million acres of timberlands in Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota and Mississippi.
The company also operates six sawmills, an industrial-grade plywood mill, a residential and commercial real estate development business and a rural timberland sales program.
CatchMark, founded in 2007, owns more than 350,000 acres of timberlands in Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia.