ATLANTA - Timber management firm CatchMark Timber Trust Inc. will add 55,671 acres of prime timberlands to its portfolio through two separate transactions totaling $106 million. Approximately 95% of the timberland is located in Georgia, with the remainder in north Florida.

The two transactions, known as Oglethorpe and Satilla River, are expected to close in the third quarter. CatchMark said the transactions will be financed through a combination of its credit facility and cash on hand.

When completed, CatchMark (NYSE: CTT) said the acquisitions will add 2.5 million tons of timber to its marketable inventory, which is consists of 72% pine plantations by acreage and 48% sawn timber by tons. They also are expected to increase the company’s annual harvest volumes over the next decade by 230,000 to 250,000 tons.

CatchMark President and CEO Jerry Barag said the acquisitions "will enhance our long-term harvest volumes, improve our product mix, provide durable earnings, and help grow our dividend. We continue to concentrate our purchases in key U.S. South fiber baskets, where we are finding the best relative value opportunities to help us meet these objectives,” he said.

Earlier this year, CatchMark purchased 36,300 acres of timberland known as the Waycross-Panola properties in southeast Georgia and east Texas for approximately $74 million. That transaction, completed April 14, is projected to add approximately 180,000 to 200,000 tons to the company's annual harvest volumes over the next decade. Another 7,044 acres in Georgia were acquired in May for $10 million.

Formerly known as Wells Timberland REIT, CatchMark Timber became a self-managed company in September 2013 and launched its public stock offering in December. As of June 30, the company owned interest in approximately 320,400 acres of timberland in Georgia, Alabama and Texas.

About CatchMark

Headquartered in Atlanta, CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc. is a self-administered and self-managed publicly traded REIT that began operations in 2007 and owns interests in approximately 320,400 acres* of timberland located in Georgia, Alabama and Texas. Listed on the NYSE (CTT), CatchMark provides institutions and individuals an opportunity to invest in a public company focused exclusively on timberland ownership with an objective of producing stockholder returns from sustainably recurring harvests. For more information, visit www.catchmark.com.