Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group — the largest IKEA retailer — said it agreed to acquire 153,000 hectares of mostly forest land in Latvia and Estonia from Södra, Sweden’s largest forest owners’ association, for €720 million.
Completion is subject to approval by the relevant regulatory authorities. About 89% of the land being bought is forest land.
As the world’s largest IKEA retailer, Ingka Group operates in 31 markets and represents 87% of global IKEA sales.
“Unlike typical corporations, the group is owned by a foundation with a charitable purpose,” said Ingka Group.
“This means that profits are reinvested into the business rather than distributed to private shareholders, enabling self-funded, long-term investments like this major forestland acquisition in the Baltics.
“This long-term investment approach also enables a different acquisition strategy.
“Rather than a focus on mainly exporting timber and short-term returns, Ingka Investments aims to partner with Baltic sawmills and panel manufacturers to process wood regionally, creating skilled jobs and building local expertise.”
Niks Sauva, Country Manager, Ingka Investments Latvia, said: “We’re committed to creating more value locally in the Baltics. Our goal is to increase the share of wood processed regionally to strengthen the Baltic forestry value chain.”
Ingka said: “Ingka Investments already owns 331,000 hectares in seven countries.
“In financial year 2025, the Ingka Investments forestland teams employed around 190 co-workers, and created thousands of additional jobs through local contractors.
“The company planted 14 million seedlings, that together with natural regeneration contributed to overall forest expansion and an estimated net growth of 500,000 cubic metres annually. 22 percent of Ingka Investments’ existing forests are managed with a special focus on conservation and prioritising environmental objectives first.
“Earlier this year, Ingka Investments allocated 16,000 hectares of its Latvian forests for an applied research collaboration with the European Forest Institute and Preferred by Nature.
“The project trials practices such as closer‑to‑nature and continuous‑cover forestry to improve resilience and minimise biodiversity impacts, with the intention of scaling proven methods across Ingka Investments’ forests and wider supply chains.”
Ingka Investments MD, Peter van der Poel said: “Our unique ownership structure allows us to invest with a long-term perspective rather than short-term quarterly thinking. Investing in forestry represents exactly that kind of generational commitment.
“We want to contribute to the regional economies where we’re present and maintain healthy forests for the generations to come …
“We firmly believe that responsible forest management delivers both environmental and economic success. It’s in our interest to manage our forests for the long-term, preserving and improving their health, while providing this renewable resource for furniture and other uses. Our goal is to ensure that this vital resource remains forests forever.”
Södra CEO Lotta Lyrå said: “For Södra, this is a transaction that enables us to focus more on developing the value of our members’ forests and thereby strengthen our long-term competitiveness.
“We are very pleased to have found a buyer who shares our view of responsible and sustainable forestry, and we look forward to seeing the forests in the Baltics managed in the same spirit.”
Completion is subject to approval by the relevant authorities in Latvia and Estonia.