By Brazil Stock Guide – Itaú Unibanco (B3: ITUB4) has agreed to invest R$1.2 billion in a forestry venture controlled by Klabin SA (B3: KLBN11), expanding the Brazilian lender’s exposure to the country’s timber and pulp supply chain.
The investment will give Itaú a stake in Bougainville Reflorestadora, a special-purpose company established to manage and commercialize forestry assets in southern Brazil, according to a report published Tuesday by Folha de São Paulo in its Painel S.A. column.
The transaction marks the third investment involving Itaú and Klabin’s forestry operations in Paraná state, strengthening a partnership focused on pine and eucalyptus plantations.
Forestry venture covers 37,300 hectares
Bougainville Reflorestadora was established to oversee Klabin’s forestry assets in Paraná and conduct commercial timber transactions involving plantations operated by third parties.
Its business includes the purchase and sale of pine and eucalyptus wood grown in Paraná, Santa Catarina and São Paulo, three states that form an important part of Brazil’s forestry and industrial production base.
The assets associated with the venture cover approximately 37,300 hectares of land, providing a substantial base for commercial forestry operations.
Under the arrangement, Klabin will contribute forestry assets to the company, while the institutional investor will provide R$1.2 billion in cash upon completion of the transaction.
The deal remains subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Klabin will retain control of the venture.
Itaú deepens investments in forestry assets
The investment builds on an existing relationship between Itaú and Klabin, one of Brazil’s major producers of pulp, paper and packaging materials.
According to the report, the bank invested R$600,000 in two other special-purpose companies linked to Klabin’s forestry operations in 2025. Those ventures also manage pine and eucalyptus plantations in the region.
Itaú has additional exposure to the forestry industry through equity interests in Araucária Florestal and Jatobá Florestal, subsidiaries of Duratex Florestal, which belongs to Dexco SA (B3: DXCO3).
The transactions place the lender alongside major industrial companies in businesses involving forestry assets and commercial timber production, extending its investment activities beyond traditional banking operations.
Regulatory filing identifies Itaú as investor
Klabin initially disclosed the planned forestry transaction without identifying the institutional investor providing the R$1.2 billion contribution.
The identity of the investor was subsequently established by Folha’s Painel S.A. column through a document submitted to Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense, known as Cade, the country’s antitrust regulator.
Klabin said the transaction was consistent with its capital allocation discipline and strategy of generating sustainable value for stakeholders.
The arrangement combines the company’s forestry assets with outside institutional capital while allowing Klabin to maintain operational control of the new business.
Neither Itaú nor Klabin had responded to Folha’s requests for comment by the time its report was published.
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