Weyerhaeuser Co.sold an estimated 260,000 acres of southern U.S. timberlands to in a deal valued atan estimated $560 million.

Twin Creeks is a joint venture formed by Plum Creek Timber Co.Inc., before its mergerwith Weyerhaeuser, and several other institutional investors.

The timberland portfolio, owned by Plum Creek prior to the merger,generated an estimated $440 million in cash for Weyerhaeuser, according to an April4 filing.

In addition, Twin Creeks' managing member and independent fiduciary,Silver Creek Capital Management, said in a news release that the joint venture hassecured a final $150 million for institutional financing from the Maine Public EmployeesRetirement System. Other funding for the partnership has come in the form of $200million from Weyerhaeuser, including an estimated $118 million in contributed timberland;$300 million from the Washington State Investment Board; $200 million from the OregonPublic Employees Retirement Fund; and $100 million from the Alaska Permanent FundCorp.

Altogether, Twin Creeks has total capital commitments of roughly$950 million. After the acquisition of the initial portfolio, the jointventure will have approximately $400 million for future timberland acquisitions.