The California-based company selling Skyline Forest west of Bend has put additional Oregon land holdings up for sale. Shanda Asset Management LLC is selling all of its six properties in Central Oregon for $228 million.

Shanda’s High Cascade Timberland Portfolio covers 197,526 acres of timberland forest. The property is listed by Mason and Morse Ranch Company, a Colorado-based real estate firm specializing in large, rural properties. The listing went live on Jan. 24.

The largest tract of the six parcels of land is the 33,000-acre Bull Springs Skyline Forest west of Bend. This parcel, up for sale for several years, was originally listed at $127 million before the owner dropped the price to $95 million in 2022.

Skyline Forest was once a popular place for mountain biking and local bike groups frequented the area and used it for bike races. Shanda closed access in 2022, due to fire danger and the ban has remained in place.

The forest remains an active tree farm and work there includes tree harvesting and wildfire mitigation efforts.

The company that owns it fell under scrutiny last year because its founding member, Chinese billionaire Tianqiao Chen, is a former member of the Chinese Communist Party. This association drew fire from several U.S. lawmakers and right-wing media amid rising political tensions between the U.S. and China.

Chen purchased the six properties in 2015 from Fidelity National Financial Ventures for $85 million. The current selling price represents a 168% increase over 10 years. This represents an annualized return on investment of 10.4%, if Shanda can get its asking price for all six parcels. Shanda also owns large tracts of land in Ontario, Canada, according to its website.

Six tracts listed

In addition to the Bull Spring Skyline Forest Tract, the five other pieces of land include the Gilchrist Tract (36,251 acres, selling for $27 million), the Wickiup Tract (13,900 acres, selling for $10.5 million), the Spring Butte Tract (22,920 acres, selling for $15 million) and the Lakeview Forest Tract (484 acres, selling for $250,000).

Jason Reindorp, a spokesperson for Shanda, said the tracts of land could be sold separately but the company prefers to sell all of it as one portfolio. He adds that there is no plan to sell small parcels of land or house-sized lots.

“All of the land is still zoned as forest land and neither the zoning nor the structure of the land would permit that in any case,” he said.

In its description, Shanda says the properties “present significant long-term appreciation potential, offering opportunities for sustainable timber management, recreation and potential residential and mixed use development.”

More than 80% of the landscape consists of “highly productive conifer forests,” according to the listing. Creeks, springs, rivers and canyons are found on the properties and elevation ranges between 3,600 feet at Bull Springs tract to 6,400 feet at the Lakeview tract.

The property closest to Bend, Skyline Forest, has had local interest. Bend-based Deschutes Land Trust has spearheaded local efforts to keep the property undeveloped.

“We remain in contact with the sellers and continue to share our interest in conservation opportunities there,” said Rika Ayotte, the executive director of Deschutes Land Trust, adding that there has been no recent change in the status of discussions with Shanda.

No deal yet

The goal for the Land Trust is to purchase the property outright but a deal has yet to be struck.

“We remain interested in the property and finding a path to conservation … all the stars have to align to make it happen in terms of valuation and in terms of resources being available to acquire the property and that just hasn’t happened yet.”

Ayotte said it will be interesting to see whether the listing of the full portfolio of properties changes interest from other buyers besides the Land Trust.

“We will just have to see what happens,” she said.

Reindorp says Shanda is in no rush to make a move on the properties and listing them represents a test of the market to gauge interest.

“What we do or not do from here depends on market feedback,” said Reindorp. “If the right buyer expresses interest, we will have the conversation, but we feel no urgency to sell the land right now. If the right buyer does not surface, we will happily keep working the land as we have been doing.”

He says the company takes local sentiment into account when making decisions, suggesting that Shanda is not interested in unloading the properties simply the highest bidder.

“We know how important this land is to the communities around it, and this also factors into our decision making,” he said. “We enjoy stewarding this land and have also liked getting to know the community over the years.”