FORT MYERS, Fla., May 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Alico, Inc.
("Alico" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: ALCO) announces today that the
State of Florida approved entering
into an option agreement submitted by Alico which grants the State
an option to purchase approximately 10,684 acres of Alico Ranch for
approximately $28.5 million under the
Florida Forever program.
John Kiernan, Alico's President
and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are pleased the
State of Florida has approved
entering into this option agreement which grants it an option to
purchase approximately 10,684 acres on the west side of the Alico
Ranch. If exercised, we expect the State to close on the purchase
by the end of our 2020 fiscal year. Alico is committed to our
culture of conservation. Last year, Alico sold approximately 5,500
acres of pristine land to the State of
Florida for permanent protection under the Florida Forever
program. These transactions are intended to preserve sensitive
lands for Florida's future,
enhance protections for the Florida Panther, and protect the health
of the Caloosahatchee River and the Western Everglades Basin."
Mr. Kiernan continued, "Because the acres involved in this
potential purchase by the State are critical to the planned Alico
dispersed water storage project known as Alico Northern Everglades
Payment for Environmental Services, we have decided to suspend the
permit approval activities for that project at this time. Alico
remains dedicated to preserving Florida's crucial water resources and intends
to explore other ways to continue to partner with the State of Florida on our dispersed water
storage project once this pending transaction closes. As it has for
generations, Alico will continue to support conservation and land
management programs on the remaining acres of the Alico Ranch,
which are currently leased for recreational hunting and cattle
grazing activities."
About Alico
Alico, Inc. primarily operates two divisions: Alico Citrus, one
of the nation's largest citrus producers, and Alico Water Resources
and Other Operations, a leading water storage and environmental
services division. Learn more about Alico (Nasdaq: "ALCO") at
www.alicoinc.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains 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. These forward-looking statements are based on Alico's
current expectations about future events and can be identified by
terms such as "plans," "expect," "may," "anticipate," "intend,"
"should be," "will be," "is likely to," "believes," and similar
expressions referring to future periods.
Alico believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking
statements are reasonable but cannot guarantee future results,
level of activity, performance or achievements. Actual results may
differ materially from those expressed or implied in the
forward-looking statements. Therefore, Alico cautions you against
relying on any of these forward-looking statements. Factors which
may cause future outcomes to differ materially from those foreseen
in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:
changes in laws, regulation and rules; weather conditions that
affect production, transportation, storage, demand, import and
export of fresh product and their by-products; increased pressure
from diseases including citrus greening and citrus canker, as well
as insects and other pests; disruption of water supplies or changes
in water allocations; market pricing of citrus; pricing and supply
of raw materials and products; market responses to industry volume
pressures; pricing and supply of energy; changes in interest rates;
availability of financing for land development activities and other
growth and corporate opportunities; onetime events; acquisitions
and divestitures; seasonality; labor disruptions; inability to pay
debt obligations; inability to engage in certain transactions due
to restrictive covenants in debt instruments; government
restrictions on land use; changes in agricultural land values; the
Company's receipt of future funding from the state of Florida in connection with water retention
projects; impact of the coronavirus pandemic on our agriculture
operations, including without limitation demand for product, supply
chain, health and availability of our labor force and the labor
force of our competitors and access to governmental loans and
incentives; any reduction in the public float resulting from
repurchases of common stock by the Company; changes in equity
awards to employees; any increase in public float resulting from
the distribution by 734 Investors of its shares to its members;
whether the Company's dividend policy, including its recent
increased dividend amounts, is continued; expressed desire of
certain of our stockholders to liquidate their shareholdings by
virtue of past market sales of common stock by sales of common
stock or by way of future transactions; political changes and
economic crises; competitive actions by other companies; risks
related to the duration and severity of the COVID-19 outbreak and
its impact on the Company's business; the impact of the COVID-19
outbreak on the U.S. and global economies and financial market;
increased competition from international companies; changes in
environmental regulations and their impact on farming practices;
the ability to secure permits for the Water Storage Contract and
Project from the South Florida Water Management District; the land
ownership policies of governments; changes in government farm
programs and policies and international reaction to such programs;
changes in pricing calculations with our customers; fluctuations in
the value of the U. S. dollar, interest rates, inflation and
deflation rates; length of terms of contracts with customers;
impact on concentration of sales to one customer; and changes in
and effects of crop insurance programs, global trade agreements,
trade restrictions and tariffs; the exercise of an option by the
State of Florida to purchase
approximately 10,684 acres of land from Alico; and soil conditions,
harvest yields, prices for commodities, and crop production
expenses. Other risks and uncertainties include those that are
described in Alico's SEC filings, which are available on the SEC's
website at http://www.sec.gov. Alico undertakes no obligation to
subsequently update or revise the forward-looking statements made
in this press release, except as required by law.
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SOURCE Alico