The Rothschild family sold an Austrian forestry- and hunting estate including a stately lodge and power plants in what the broker called a “historic transaction” in continental Europe.

“This type of transaction happens once in a century in a family like the Rothschilds,” he said. “We saw big interest from entrepreneurs from Germany, Switzerland and Austria.”

“I consider any transaction above 1,000 hectares a big one, so this is exceptional,” Bischof said. “We’re seeing growing interest from entrepreneurs who are looking for long-term investments in a low-interest rate environment.”

Trend magazine reported a sale price of about 90 million euros. Bischof declined to comment on the sale price beyond saying it was the most expensive transaction he has handled in a 25-year career as a specialist for land and forests. The estate includes a main hunting lodge, two power plants and about 15 buildings, according to Bischof.

“As as family-owned business, we consider this investment into wood and forest as a good addition to our group of companies,” in the paper and packaging industry, Prinzhorn said in a statement. The Vienna-based company employs a total of about 6,600 people worldwide and has an annual revenue of about 1.4 billion euros.

Cord Prinzhorn, who took over as CEO in 2013, plans to double the company in size by 2030. Prinzhorn dates back to a papermill that was
founded in 1853 in Pitten, Austria.

The Rothschild family became one of Austria’s biggest land owners in the 19th century, after Anselm Rothschild, the son of Vienna bank-founder Salomon, became an influential financier in the Austro-Hungarian Habsburg empire. The family originally owned 13,000 hectares in the area and still holds the rest, Bischof said.