The Victorian Plantations Corporation (VPC), including management rights for 170,000 hectares of land, has been sold for $550 million to Hancock Victorian Plantations Pty Ltd.

The VPC was corporatised in 1993 and its 1997-98 annual report listed assets of $352 million, revenue of $81.5 million and net operating profit of $24.8 million.

Hancock Victorian Plantations is 60% owned by US investment company Hancock Timber Resource Group and 40% by Australian superannuation funds comprising UniSuper, National Australia Asset Management and superannuation investors managed by Morgan Grenfell.

Including the VPC purchase, Hancock manages 1.2 million hectares of plantations worth $A5 billion throughout the USA, Canada and Australia.

The Treasurer, Mr. Stockdale, described the sale as ‘a real coup for Victoria’, given the book vale of the VPC of $352 million. Proceeds from the sale will be used to reduce debt and other state liabilities. The Government maintains ownership of the land and all plantations will continue to be regulated by the Code of Forest Practices for Timber Production.