Ingka Investments finalises Baltic forestland purchase for €720m.

Ingka Investments, the investment arm of the Ingka Group, has closed on a major Baltic land deal, acquiring forest estates from Södra for a headline price of €720 million (roughly USD 780 million).

The portfolio comprises roughly 135,232 ha in Latvia (about 115,000 ha of forest) and 17,742 ha in Estonia (around 15,800 ha forest). Ingka says it will act as a long‑term steward, prioritising responsible management while supporting regional economic activity.

Peter van der Poel, Managing Director of Ingka Investments, framed the purchase as a generational investment in natural capital, stressing the aim to protect timber resources, sustain jobs and deliver climate benefits through careful forest management.

Operationally the assets already contribute local economic value: Ingka Investments Latvia reported turnover of €11.9 million and a local workforce of 40, while Ingka Investments Estonia generated €8.5 million in revenues and employed 12 people in the last financial year. The buyer says local contractors and supply chains will continue to be engaged.

Institutional interest in timberland has been rising because woodland delivers long-dated, inflation‑linked cashflows and natural‑capital value such as carbon uptake. For European investors, Baltic forests are attractive for scale, timber quality and management potential; timberland allocations are increasingly viewed as a diversification tool with ESG co‑benefits.

Although Ingka Group operates IKEA retail businesses in many countries, it does not run IKEA retail in the Baltic states — those activities are under the franchise network of Inter IKEA Group. Still, the acquisition reinforces a broader trend of retailers and their investment arms buying natural assets to combine financial returns with supply resilience and sustainability goals. Market watchers will now watch how Ingka balances timber harvest, conservation and possible carbon opportunities in the coming years.