Empresas Copec to Sell Some of Its Forestry Businesses to Brazilian Pulp and Paper Company Klabin for $1.16 Billion

Chile’s Empresas Copec SA announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to sell some of its forestry businesses to Brazilian pulp and paper company Klabin SA in a sale worth approximately $1.16 billion, according to Reuters (12-21-23).

Copec said that the sale would be processed through its forestry subsidiary Arauco and would include a series of forestry units which own assets largely in the Brazilian state of Parana, which together Copec referred to as Sociedades Forestales Brasilenas.

The closing price is subject to regulatory approvals including authorization from Brazil’s antitrust watchdog CADE, Copec said, and could depend on factors such as the quantity of wood present when the deal closes.

In a separate statement, per Reuters, Klabin said the deal includes 150,000 hectares (370,658 acres) in Parana state, around 56% of which it considers productive land, as well as 31.5 million metric tons of standing wood, equipment, and machinery. Klabin said the deal should help it purchase less wood from third parties, cutting costs and helping it reach its self-sufficiency targets.

According to Reuters, Copec said the sale does not include industrial assets tied to wood panel plants Arauco holds in Brazil, or other forestry assets across the state of Mato Grasso do Sul.

If the deal is finalized, it should have a positive impact of some $130 million after taxes on Arauco’s 2024 results, according to preliminary estimates cited by Copec and published by Reuters.