Source: Latin Lawyer
Guyer & Regules has advised Uruguayan pulp and paper consortium Montes del Plata in its acquisition of a set of local forestry assets from US land-focused investor Nuveen Natural Capital.
Nuveen made the sale through its Global Timber subsidiaries, which relied on Posadas in the deal. The transaction closed on 12 March for an undisclosed amount.
Montes del Plata, a joint venture of Finnish renewables group Stora Enso and Chilean forestry business Arauco, acquired Uruguayan forestry companies Taurión and Monte Fresnos and the agricultural associations affiliated with those organisations. In total, the consortium acquired four businesses, which feature among the 10 largest forestry companies in Uruguay.
Together, the target organisations own a combined 326 square kilometres worth of timberland assets spread across Uruguay, including the southern departments of Lavalleja, Maldonado and Rocha, as well as Treinta y Tres and Cerro Largo in the east of the country, among others. Over half of the land owned by these companies consists of eucalyptus forests used to produce logs.
Montes del Plata aims to strengthen its position in Uruguay’s flourishing forestry market with this acquisition.
Jointly owned by Arauco and Stora Enso, Montes del Plata produces pulp and paper from its forestry assets located across 13 different Uruguayan departments. That comprises 1,700 square kilometres of forestry land, while the company produces 1.4 million tonnes of pulp each year. In December, its Chilean parent Arauaco divested forestry assets to Brazilian counterpart Klabin for US$1.2 billion.
With US$12.4 billion assets under management, Nuveen Natural Capital is owned by US pension fund The Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America-College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA). Nuveen Natural Capital focuses on investing in land, agricultural property and real estate, and manages around 12,140 square kilometres worth of assets across 10 countries.
Counsel to Montes del Plata
In-house counsel – Carolina Gil, Patricia Irigoyen and María José Gorostiaga
Guyer & Regules
Partners Nicolás Piaggio, Federico Susena, Juan Manuel Mercant and Santiago Madalena, counsel Maria Noel Riotorto and Fernanda González, and associates Gonzalo Iglesias, Marcelo García Pintos, Renato Guerrieri, Rodrigo Varela, Italo Raymondo Sellanes, Pilar Etchecopar Gurruchaga, Valentina Scarpelli and Paulina Muñoz
Counsel to Nuveen Natural Capital, Global Timber Spain and Global Timber International
Posadas
Partners Lucía Carbajal, Diego Cuenca and Francisco Obes Secco, and associates Malena Máspoli, Mariana Fernández, Victoria Elduayen, Gabriela Sosa, Tomás Benvenuto, Virginia Yellinek, Rodrigo Canadell, Martina Reyes, Diego Gamarra, Magdalena Cuñarro, Rosalía Nogueira, María Laura Santos, Valentina Leites and Carolina Llano