RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Packaging company MeadWestvaco Corp. is selling its U.S. forestland to Plum Creek Timber Co. for $934 million.
Richmond, Va.-based MeadWestvaco said Monday that the sale includes about 501,000 acres in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. The company will keep its oil and natural gas rights on 191,000 acres in West Virginia.
Seattle-based Plum Creek, a timber real estate investment trust, will pay $74 million in cash and $860 million in a 10-year installment note.
The companies also formed a joint venture involving 109,000 acres near Charleston, S.C. Plum Creek will invest $152 million in the new partnership.
Additionally, MeadWestvaco and Plum Creek will sign a 25-year fiber supply deal for MeadWestvaco's Covington, Va., paperboard mill.
The transactions are expected to close by the end of the year.
