Manulife Financial Corp. said Thursday its Hancock Natural Resource Group unit closed its acquisition of 300,000 acres of pine timberland on behalf of the Swedish pension system fund AP3. Hancock Natural Resource Group teamed up on the purchase with TexMark Timber Treasury LP, which is a joint venture managed by CatchMark Timber Trust Inc. . Tom Sarno, global head of timberland investments at Manulife Investment Management, said the purchase marked his team’s fourth timberland acquisition this year. Those include two eucalyptus plantations in Brazil and Maine along the Quebec border, as part of Manulife Investment Management’s six million acres of timberland and 400,000 acres of farmland. Manulife’s shares did not trade in the pre-market. CatchMark Timber Trust shares rose 1.5% on Thursday morning.
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