Press releases.
Bockasjö AB sells forest holding in Latvia
Property and development company Bockasjö AB has signed a declaration of intent with the Swedish Latvian Forest Company AB, which is listed on Aktietorget, to transfer the entire forest holding which Bockasjö AB has owned in Latvia since 2008. The holding amounts to 2,885 hectares of forest and agricultural land, with a timber volume of approximately 205,000 m³.
The holding is held in three Latvian subsidiaries. The deal amounts to SEK 41 billion.
Latvian Forest Company AB is listed on Aktietorget. Through the acquisition, it will double its forest holding in Latvia.
The deal will be financed through a combination of traditional bank financing and an issuance of shares aimed at new and current shareholders. Bockasjö AB has committed to subscribing to shares amounting to SEK 5.6 billion in the upcoming issuance. After completion of the issuance, Bockasjö AB will be one of the larger individual shareholders of Latvian Forest Company AB.
Bockasjö AB’s property portfolio amounts to 200,000 m² and the majority of the properties are located in Stockholm – Arlanda, Gothenburg Airport City and Helsingborg.
Bockasjö is in a strong phase of expansion, where three properties totaling 98,000 m² are under construction. The first property, approximately 31,000 m², in Arlandastad is completed and leased to Schenker Logistics AB. The second property of approximately 32,000 m², also in Arlandastad, is expected to be move-in ready in spring 2014. Negotiations are underway with potential tenants.
The third property, approximately 35,000 m², which is located along the E6 outside of Helsingborg, will be ready for move-in on February 1, 2014 and is leased to PostNord Logistics TPL AB.
“With the sale of our forest holding in Latvia, we are concentrating our operation on larger logistics properties,” says Joakim Hedin, CEO of Bockasjö AB.
“The investment in Latvian Forest Company AB is financial in nature. We see the potential for forest prices in Latvia to be reassessed in the long-term. Forest prices in Latvia are around 20% of the corresponding prices in Sweden, while prices are the same for the final product, timber and pulpwood. We believe the difference between buying forest in Latvia compared with Sweden will ultimately diminish.”
Facts
The Bockasjö Group is active in the areas of property management, property development and asset management. For more information visit www.bockasjo.se
Latvian Forest Company AB (publ) presents the opportunity to invest in favourably valued forest in Latvia via a Swedish company. The three primary bases for the operation, besides the fact that forest is a coveted tangible asset that grows on its own, are: an expected rise in the price levels of Latvian forest and agricultural property; to generate a value increase via active forest management; and to build a larger property portfolio. The expansion will be financed by gradually carrying out an issuance of shares as the properties are acquired and the operation is developed.
Through Latvian Forest Company AB, shareholders will be part-owners in many properties instead of one – which provides good risk allocation. The company has been listed on Aktietorget in Sweden since 2012.
Questions will be answered by:
Bockasjö AB Joakim Hedin +46 (0)705-215 300
Latvian Forest Company AB Fredrik Zetterström +46 (0)735 -449 730
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