July 1, 2010 — Hancock Queensland Plantations, a company managed by Hancock Timber Resource Group (HTRG) on behalf of institutional investors, has finalised the acquisition of Forestry Plantations Queensland (FPQ) after being announced the winning tenderer on May 18 this year.

Hancock Queensland Plantations' client investors paid A$603 million for FPQ whose main asset is a 99-year licence to manage, harvest and re-grow plantation timber on approximately 204,000 hectares of plantation lands.

Under the 99 year licence agreement the Queensland Government retains ownership of the underlying land held under the licence.

"We are honoured to have purchased the rights to manage these important and outstanding forest plantations," said Hancock Timber Resource Group President, Dan Christensen.

"We manage all the forests under our care globally with a long-term, sustainable approach that benefits the environment and the economies where we operate, as well as benefitting all key stakeholders, including employees, neighbours, local communities, associated industries, investors, partners, and customers. In short, we manage much more than trees," Mr Christensen said.

Mr Christensen said all award based employees of FPQ are guaranteed security of tenure for three years with a commitment to the terms of the enterprise bargaining agreement that FPQ reached with its employees and the unions. He added that all existing awards, previous terms and conditions of employment continue and continuity of service is recognised.

"We have strong local relationships through our existing Australian operations and plan to make the ownership transition as seamless as possible. We are impressed with FPQ's operations and have no plans to initiate a major restructure," Mr Christensen said.

"This investment reflects our long term commitment to Australia, our confidence in the country's economy and in the local forestry industry," Dan Christensen said. "We seek to add value to the Queensland forestry industry through bringing our expertise and sustainability practices."

Mr Christensen said Hancock Timber Resource Group will seek third party certification for management of the plantations under Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards. "The lands are already certified under the Australian Forestry Standard and that certification will be maintained."

All Hancock Timber managed forests in Australasia are FSC certified. FSC is an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation established to promote responsible management of the world's forests.

"Hancock Timber is dedicated to protecting the environment. As part of the transaction Hancock Timber Resource Group has already committed to handing back to the Government more than 3,000 hectares that, in consultation with Conservation Groups, has been identified as suitable once harvested for rehabilitation as natural habitat. We very much support such initiatives," Mr Christensen said.

To ensure the State of Queensland's hardwood commitments are met, Hancock Timber Resource Group will continue the State's initiative of establishing 20,000 hectares of eucalypt hardwood plantations. These plantations will be progressively established between now and 2025 so as to be prepared for the expected cessation of native forest logging at that time.

Key to the agreement with the State is the protection of public access to the forests and the continuation of existing land use permits and their allocation and operation under the Forestry Act. Fire Management and Operations Plans have already been agreed with the State and Fire Commissioner.

Hancock Timber Resource Group is a global timberland investment management organisation based in Boston, Massachusetts which manages more than five million acres (two million hectares) of timberland in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Brazil and the United States, including 167,000 hectares under the ownership of Hancock Victorian Plantations in Victoria, Australia.

Contact:
Lee McLean
Professional Public Relations
+61 7 3309 4702 or 0411 868 348
lmclean@ppr.com.au