Forest asset sale: CMPC sells 60,000 hectares in Maule for US$365.5 million
CMPC agreed to a forest asset sale in Maule to a J.P. Morgan vehicle for US$365.5 million. With its packaging sale, the total reaches US$785.5 million.
· 2 min read
Empresas CMPC closed one of the largest deals of the month in Chile. Its subsidiary Forestal Mininco signed a forest asset sale covering about 60,000 hectares in the Maule Region for US$365.5 million, according to the material event filing the company sent to the CMF, as reported by Emol and Diario Estrategia. The buyer is Bosques San Pedro SpA, part of J.P. Morgan Natural Capital, the forestry investment platform of J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
US$365.5M
Price
subject to customary adjustments
60,000 ha
Area
mostly radiata pine
~5%
Share of forest holdings
of CMPC's land
Source: Emol, October 21, 2026
View the data as a table
| Price | US$365.5M | subject to customary adjustments |
| Area | 60,000 ha | mostly radiata pine |
| Share of forest holdings | ~5% | of CMPC's land |
What the forest asset sale includes
The land consists mainly of productive radiata pine plantations and represents about 5% of CMPC's total forest area. Part of the price is paid at closing and the rest as the land is registered in the buyer's name, a process the company expects to complete within the next three months.
CMPC is not giving up the wood: the deal includes a long-term supply contract under which it will keep buying the output of that land to supply its paperboard mill in Maule. In practice, the company frees up capital without losing supply.
The second sale in two months
This forest asset sale follows the one CMPC announced in September, when it agreed to sell its corrugated box business to Ireland's Smurfit Westrock for US$420 million, according to The Clinic.
"This transaction is part of our long-term asset management strategy announced at the end of last year," said Sebastián Moraga, CMPC's vice president of finance and administration, according to The Clinic.
How much a forest hectare is worth
Dividing the price by the area, the deal works out to about US$6,100 per hectare, plantations included. This is our own approximate calculation, because the reported area is rounded and the price is subject to adjustments.
CMPC estimated that the sale will have a positive effect on its results between the fourth quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027, although it cannot yet quantify it precisely.
To see how companies use data to make moves like this, read data-driven culture: how to get your team to make data-based decisions.
What it means for you
- If you are a forestry supplier or contractor in Maule: the landowner changes, but CMPC keeps existing contractual commitments during the transition, so check who your contracts will be with.
- If you follow the market: a forest asset sale to an investment fund, with a supply contract, is a model where the operating company frees up capital and the investor gets a long-term asset.
- If you run a business: the case shows a common practice among large companies: reviewing the portfolio and selling non-core assets to focus capital where it earns more.
Sources
- forest asset sale
- CMPC
- J.P. Morgan
- Maule Region
- forestry sector