SOUTH CAROLINA -- CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc. announced an agreement to acquire 51,700 acres of prime timberlands in South Carolina for $101.8 million, excluding closing costs, from funds managed by Forest Investment Associates.

The acquisition of the Carolinas Midlands III timberlands will expand significantly CatchMark's recent entry into North Carolina and South Carolina from 17,600 to 69,300 acres, and will increase the company's total acreage in the U.S. South to 480,400 acres. Closing of the transaction is expected by the end of the 2Q or early 3Q 2016.

Adding approximately 2.1 million tons to CatchMark's merchantable inventory, the acquisition comprises 70% pine acres and a 52%/48% pulpwood to sawtimber mix with significant diversity in topography, creating a range of seasonal harvest options to meet changing market demand. The transaction's productivity is expected to be 4.8 to 5.8 tons per acre per year, adding approximately 250,000 to 300,000 tons per year to CatchMark's harvest over the next decade.

CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc. is a self-administered and self-managed publicly traded REIT that began operations in 2007 and owns interests in approximately 428,700 acres of timberland located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.