State of Florida approves option agreement with Alico to acquire approximately 10,684 acres of Alico Ranch
May 28 2020 - 4:15PM
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.
Investor Contact:
Investor Relations(646)
277-1254InvestorRelations@alicoinc.com
Richard RalloSenior Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer(239) 226-2000rrallo@alicoinc.com
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