Japan’s Mitsui and Nomura Enter Into an Agreement to Purchase Australia’s New Forests

On Friday (5-20-22), New Forests, the North Sydney, Australia-based global investment manager of nature-based real assets and natural capital strategies, with AUD 7.8 billion (USD $5.8 billion) in assets under management across 1.1 million hectares (2.7 million acres) of investments, announced that Japan’s Mitsui and Nomura had entered into an agreement to purchase 100% of all the shares of New Forest.

Mitsui and Nomura will provide capital to support New Forests’ strategic growth initiatives and the global expansion of its investment platform. In addition, New Forests will leverage Nomura’s global distribution network particularly across Japan and more broadly in Asia.

Mitsui and Nomura share New Forests’ commitment to sustainability and vision to see investment in sustainable land use and forestry as central to the transition to a sustainable future—including addressing climate change and the conservation of nature; supporting the transition to a circular bioeconomy; and contributing to the prosperity of communities where New Forests operates.

The agreement, which is subject to regulatory approval and expected to be completed by December 2022, will see Mitsui become a 49% shareholder and Nomura a 41% shareholder, with the remaining 10% shareholding retained by New Forests’ staff. Mitsui has been a shareholder in New Forests since 2016 and will increase its shareholding from approximately 23% to 49%.