Stockholm-based AP3, Tredje AP-fonden, has bought a 4.9% stake in new Swedish forestry group Bergvik Skog for around 350skr (E38m ).
AP3 with assets of E15.5 bn says it has bought shares and subordinated notes in the firm, whose holdings consist of Swedish forestry previously owned by Stora Enso and Korsnäs.
“This investment is a part of a strategy to diversify the fund’s holdings of real estate assets,” the fund says. “AP3’s real estate holdings previously consisted entirely of equity in AP Fastigheter.” The target weighting for real estate in the fund’s reference portfolio is 8.5%.
“Our analysis shows that timberland is an attractive asset from a return and risk diversification perspective,” said AP3’s deputy chief executive Niklas Ekvall. Bergvik Skog manages 1.8m hectares of forestry and has a total of around 50 employees.