DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Farmland Partners Inc. (NYSE: FPI) (the “Company” or “FPI”) today confirmed that the recently announced sale of a portfolio of farmland to Farmland Reserve, Inc. (“Farmland Reserve”) closed as scheduled on October 16, 2024 (the “Transaction”).
The portfolio sold to Farmland Reserve consisted of 46 farms, comprising 41,554 acres of farmland in Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and the Carolinas. The $289 million all-cash Transaction generated a total gain for FPI of approximately $50 million, or approximately 21 percent over the aggregate net book value of the farms within the portfolio.
FPI has already used $146.6 million of the proceeds from the Transaction to reduce its debt, and further debt reductions are being considered. In addition, remaining capital may be deployed for stock buybacks, new farmland acquisitions, and other corporate purposes. FPI also expects that the proceeds from the Transaction will put FPI in a position to make a significant special dividend to its stockholders at the end of the year.
About Farmland Partners Inc.
Farmland Partners Inc. is an internally managed real estate company that owns and seeks to acquire high-quality North American farmland and makes loans to farmers secured by farm real estate. As of the date of this release, the Company owned and/or managed approximately 136,000 acres of farmland in 15 states, including Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas. In addition, the Company owns land and buildings for four agriculture equipment dealerships in Ohio leased to Ag Pro under the John Deere brand. The Company elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, commencing with the taxable year ended December 31, 2014. Additional information: www.farmlandpartners.com or (720) 452-3100.
About Farmland Reserve, Inc.
Farmland Reserve, https://farmlandreserve.org, is an integrated investment auxiliary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Farmland Reserve’s earnings support the mission of the Church and its religious, humanitarian, educational, and charitable good works.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including, without limitation, statements with respect to our outlook and the outlook for the farm economy generally, proposed and pending acquisitions and dispositions, financing activities, crop yields and prices and anticipated rental rates. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates” or similar expressions or their negatives, as well as statements in future tense. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, beliefs and expectations, such forward-looking statements are not predictions of future events or guarantees of future performance, and our actual results could differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Some factors that might cause such a difference include the following: the benefits to be realized in connection with the intended use of the proceeds from the Transaction; market factors and other considerations that could result in the Company deciding not to declare and pay a special dividend or to declare and pay a special dividend that is less than shareholders anticipate; the ongoing war in Ukraine and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and their impacts on the world agriculture market, world food supply, the farm economy generally, and our tenants’ businesses; changes in trade policies in the United States and other countries that import agricultural products from the United States; high inflation and elevated interest rates; the onset of an economic recession in the United States and other countries that impact the farm economy; extreme weather events, such as droughts, tornadoes, hurricanes or floods; the impact of future public health crises on our business and on the economy and capital markets generally; general volatility of the capital markets and the market price of the Company’s common stock; changes in the Company’s business strategy, availability, terms and deployment of capital; the Company’s ability to refinance existing indebtedness at or prior to maturity on favorable terms, or at all; availability of qualified personnel; changes in the Company’s industry, interest rates or the general economy; adverse developments related to crop yields or crop prices; the degree and nature of the Company’s competition; the outcomes of ongoing litigation; the timing, price or amount of repurchases, if any, under the Company's share repurchase program; the ability to consummate acquisitions or dispositions under contract; and the other factors described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and the Company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking information presented herein is made only as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events, or otherwise.
