IP to Sell 163,000 Acres for $200 Million

International Paper (IP) will sell 163,000 acres in the Southeast for a minimum of $200 million to an affiliate of Rock Creek Capital, a Jacksonville-based asset management firm that invests in unique, resource-rich land. According to wire reports, IP will receive a minimum $160 million when the deal closes later this quarter. It will receive the balance, plus interest, within three years. The company will also receive 20% of the net profit generated from the land after the Rock Creek affiliate achieves “certain financial returns.”

Shuttered Texas Silver Mine to Reopen?

First it was ethanol and the price per acre in the Corn Belt. Then oil and gas began propping up land values in mineral-rich areas such as the huge shales found coast to coast. Now other commodities are driving other forgotten or overlooked real estate markets, including an out-of-the-way section in Far West Texas where the state’s richest silver mine is slated to reopen after a seven decades of inactivity, according to this press release. Read more

How to Invest in Land (Without Living on It)

Whether you own a quarter-acre urban lot or a 40,000-acre ranch, your love of the land comes from the moment you pick up a handful of ground and watch the dirt fall through your fingers, knowing that it’s yours—all yours. But while there’s that intangible, visceral satisfaction of ownership, let’s not ignore the other benefit—profit. From energy stocks to timber REITs and ski resorts to cattle ranches, a diverse group of equities is tied to the enormous natural resources of land. Read more