Ontario Teachers’ investment vehicle assumes ownership of 870,000 acres of sustainable U.S. timberland
TORONTO, ON – Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers’) is pleased to announce it has completed a redemption transaction, whereby Tamarack Timberlands LLC, an investment vehicle owned by Ontario Teachers’, has assumed the direct ownership of approximately 870,000 acres of timberland.
The unique, large-scale timberland portfolio of high-quality Loblolly pine is spread throughout the U.S. South and is third-party certified to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative standards, one of the leading sustainable forest management standards worldwide. The timberland portfolio provides significant diversification benefits to Ontario Teachers’, including diversity of locations, customers and tree age classes.
Ontario Teachers’ has invested in these timberland assets indirectly since 2006 through a material ownership interest in a larger timberland investment vehicle. The transaction will give Tamarack Timberlands LLC full control and governance of the assets and create greater opportunities to implement long-term value creation initiatives. Resource Management Service, LLC (RMS), one of the world's largest providers of timberland investment services, will continue to act as the timberland investment manager for the asset.
The assets will continue to be operated using best-in-class management practices to ensure the sustainability of the forest over a long-term horizon, and to preserve the ecosystems and biodiversity of the forest.
“A responsible, sustainable and long-term approach to forestry has value beyond timber production,” said Christopher Metrakos, Managing Director, Natural Resources at Ontario Teachers’. “These assets will continue to provide Ontario Teachers’ with stable and robust cash yields as well as long-term capital appreciation, while also acting as a natural climate solution to help mitigate the impacts of climate change.”
Ontario Teachers’ Natural Resources department has a global, diversified portfolio of private natural resource investments in energy, metals, timberland, agriculture, aquaculture, and natural climate solutions, with timberland assets across the U.S., Canada and New Zealand.
Ontario Teachers’ recently committed to having net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its portfolio by 2050. In September last year, it set industry-leading interim reduction targets: to reduce portfolio carbon emissions intensity by 45% by 2025 and two-thirds (67%) by 2030, compared to a 2019 baseline.
About Ontario Teachers’
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers') is the administrator of Canada's largest single-profession pension plan, with C$227.7 billion in net assets (all figures at June 30, 2021 unless noted). It holds a diverse global portfolio of assets, approximately 80% of which is managed in-house, and has earned an annual total-fund net return of 9.6% since the plan's founding in 1990. Ontario Teachers' is an independent organization headquartered in Toronto. Its Asia-Pacific region offices are located in Hong Kong and Singapore, and its Europe, Middle East & Africa region office is in London. The defined-benefit plan, which is fully funded as at January 1, 2021, invests and administers the pensions of the province of Ontario's 331,000 active and retired teachers. For more information, visit otpp.com.
Media Contact
Ontario Teachers’
Dan Madge
+1 416 419 1437
media@otpp.com