Alico, Inc. on Sept. 11 announced the state of Florida purchased, under the Florida Forever program, approximately 10,702 acres of Alico Ranch for $28.5 million. The transaction was pursuant to an option agreement between the state of Florida and Alico.
John Kiernan, Alico president and chief executive officer, said the acreage was on the west side of the ranch. “This is the second sales transaction we have completed with the state of Florida, aggregating over 16,000 acres,” Kiernan said. “We continue to evaluate and sell off ranch assets and generate cash flow to be used in a manner that will be targeted to allow for a greater return for our investors. In connection with addressing the proceeds from this latest sale, we are evaluating several options.”
The options include strategic acquisitions, increasing the company’s common share dividend, and/or selected land acquisitions “where we potentially can take advantage of a like-kind exchange structure.” Such a structure “would allow us to defer a portion of the taxes related to the gain from this land sale to the state,” Kiernan said.
“Because the acres involved in the purchase would have been critical to our planned Alico dispersed water storage project, known as Alico Northern Everglades Payment for Environmental Services, we have decided to no longer pursue permit approval activities for that particular project,” Kiernan added. “However, 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.”
Several months ago, Alico announced that this sale was pending, and that last year it had sold approximately 5,500 acres of pristine land to the state. Learn more about that announcement.
The company primarily operates two divisions: Alico Citrus, one of the nation’s largest citrus producers, and Alico Water Resources and Other Operations, a water storage and environmental services division.
Source: Alico, Inc.
Share this Post