Spokane – Potlatch Corp. has announced the sale of the company’s poplar tree farm near Boardman.

Potlatch, a real estate investment trust (REIT), is selling the 17,000-acre hybrid plantation to a private-equity tree-farm investment fund for $65 million. The buyer’s name has not been released, but Mark J. Benson, a Potlatch vice president in Spokane, said he expected it would be on or before closing.

The parties signed a purchase agreement Friday. Closing is expected within the next three months. The sale will eliminate Potlatch’s holdings in Oregon, Benson said.

Potlatch has 14 employees at the Boardman plantation.

“There will be some opportunity with the new entity,” he said. “Discussions between our employers and the buyers will be occurring the next couple of weeks.”

Potlatch expects to incur an after-tax book loss of approximately $33.5 million on the sale, which will be recorded in the first quarter. The company intends to apply the proceeds from the sale to its recent 76,000-acre Wisconsin forest acquisition through a tax efficient 1031 like-kind exchange.

The Boardman property is certified under the stringent forest practices guidelines of the Forest Stewardship Council, along with the remaining 1.5 million acres under Potlatch ownership.

Potlatch began developing the Boardman plantation in 1992 to supplement the company’s fiber needs, but because of fluctuating chip prices and availability in intervening years, the plantation’s management model was changed to support growth of hardwood sawlogs. Potlatch’s goal has been to find an operator with specific expertise in manufacturing and marketing poplar products.

“After spending the past year evaluating the best path forward, and meeting with a number of interested poplar-focused operators, we are pleased to have reached an agreement with a global leader in the hybrid poplar industry who we believe is better positioned to deliver greater value from the operation,” said Michael J. Covey, chairman, president and chief executive officer. “We are very proud of the advances in technology and silviculture that were developed by our employees at Boardman, and are pleased that the new owner is committed to continuing and enhancing these developments.”

Potlatch has approximately 1.5 million acres of forest in Arkansas, Idaho, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Oregon. Through its taxable subsidiary, the company also operates 13 manufacturing facilities that produce lumber and panel products and bleached pulp products, including paperboard and tissue. The company also conducts a land sales and development business through its taxable REIT subsidiary.