Billionaire to scoop up swath of land
A company managed by a Colorado billionaire and media executive is slated to buy nearly 1 million acres of forestland in eastern and western Maine.
BBC Land LLC plans to buy 900,000 acres from current owner and financial investment firm GMO Renewable Resources, a deal expected to be finalized Feb. 1, according to the Bangor Daily News. A local consultant for BBC Land declined to say much about the company, but documents filed with the Maine Secretary of State's Office listed John Malone as sole manager of BBC Land. Malone is chairman of Liberty Media, an Englewood, Colo.-based company that includes as holdings cable shopping channel QVC, travel website Expedia.com, the Atlanta Braves baseball team and Sirius XM satellite radio. Malone, one of the top 10 largest landholders in the country, is ranked No. 110 on Forbes magazine's list of wealthiest Americans, according to the paper. Malone already owns tens of thousands of acres in Maine. There was no word on the value of the deal, but GMO purchased more than 1 million acres from International Paper for approximately $250 million in 2004.
John Cashwell, a BBC Land consultant, said the company will continue to manage the land as working forest and will not change long-term wood supply contracts with Verso Paper's mills in Jay and Bucksport. The land will also remain open for public recreation. The acres are located in northern Hancock and Washington counties, as well as north of Rangeley.
Go to the article from the Bangor Daily News >>
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