Gladstone Land Acquires Farm in Florida for $54 Million
January 12 2017 - 4:04PM
Gladstone Land Corporation (NASDAQ:LAND) (“Gladstone Land” or the
“Company”) announced today that it has acquired approximately 3,750
acres of organic farmland in southern Florida for $54 million.
Upon acquisition, the Company entered into a lease agreement
with a leading grower and marketer of fresh vegetables for a 7-year
lease that provides for annual rent escalations and three, 5-year
extension options.
“We are privileged to acquire more organic farmland in Florida
with a highly-regarded vegetable grower as our tenant-partner,”
said Bill Frisbie, the Company's Managing Director for the Eastern
United States. “This property is farmed for organic
vegetables in a region with significant development pressure from
home builders. We now own 59 farms across the U.S., and we
seek to continue building and diversifying our high-value
agricultural portfolio. We have built our farmland portfolio
on the thesis that the continued growing demand for fresh fruits
and vegetables and nuts will make the finite supply of farms that
produce these crops more valuable over time.”
“Our first acquisition of 2017 represents the largest
acquisition in our Company’s history and begins what we believe
will be our strongest year,” said David Gladstone, President and
CEO of Gladstone Land. “This new farm is a great property
with a strong tenant, and we expect this acquisition will provide
us with a significant amount additional earnings, which we hope to
be able to pass on to our stockholders in the form of increased
distributions. We have now increased the distributions on our
common stock five times over the past 24 months for a total
increase of 43.3%, and our goal is to continue this trend.
And these distributions we pay out to our stockholders are
fully covered by our funds from operations.”
About Gladstone Land
Corporation:Gladstone Land is a
publicly-traded real estate investment trust that invests in
farmland located in major agricultural markets in the U.S., which
it leases to farmers, and pays monthly distributions to its
stockholders. The Company intends to report the current fair
value of its farmland on a quarterly basis; as of September 30,
2016, the estimated net asset value of the Company was $13.68 per
share. Gladstone Land currently owns 59 farms, comprised of
54,340 acres in 7 different states across the U.S., valued at
approximately $452 million. Its acreage is predominantly
concentrated in locations where its tenants are able to grow fresh
produce annual row crops, such as berries and vegetables, which are
planted and harvested annually or more frequently; as well as
permanent crops, such as almonds, blueberries, and pistachios,
which are planted every 10 to 20-plus years. The Company also
may acquire property related to farming, such as cooling
facilities, processing buildings, packaging facilities, and
distribution centers. Gladstone Land has paid 47 consecutive
monthly cash distributions on its common stock since its initial
public offering in January 2013, and the current per-share
distribution on its common stock is $0.043 per month, or $0.516 per
year. Additional information can be found at
www.GladstoneLand.com and www.GladstoneFarms.com.
Owners or brokers who have farmland for sale in the U.S. should
contact:
Eastern U.S. – Bill Frisbie at (703) 287-5839 or
bill.f@gladstoneland.comWestern U.S. – Bill Reiman at (805)
263-4778 or bill.r@gladstoneland.com Midwest U.S. – Bill Hughes at
(618) 606-2887 or bill.h@gladstoneland.com
For stockholder information on Gladstone Land, call (703)
287-5893. For Investor Relations inquiries related to any of
the monthly dividend-paying Gladstone funds, please visit
www.Gladstone.com.
All statements contained in this press release, other than
historical facts, may constitute "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends,"
"plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates" and variations of the
foregoing words and similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. Readers should not rely upon
forward-looking statements because the matters they describe are
subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could
cause the Company's business, financial condition, liquidity,
results of operations, funds from operations or prospects to differ
materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements.
Such risks and uncertainties are disclosed under the caption
"Risk Factors" of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, as filed with the SEC on
February 23, 2016. The Company cautions readers not to place
undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak
only as of the date made. The Company undertakes no
obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise, except as required by law.
For further information: Gladstone Land, 703-287-5893
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