Gladstone Land Acquires Four Farms in Arizona for $27.5 Million
MCLEAN, VA - Gladstone Land is on the move once again. In its second big land acquisition of the year, the company announced it has acquired four new farms totaling 3,253 gross acres and 3,032 irrigated acres in Southwestern Arizona for $27.5 million.
"We are excited to be adding four high-quality farms, such as these in Southwestern Arizona," shared Bill Reiman, Managing Director for the Western United States. "While we already own several thousand acres in Arizona, this is a new growing region for us and one we have been targeting for years. Southwestern Arizona is home to a major winter growing region of fresh produce and is also an important early-summer melon production area. Leafy greens and melons will be two of the primary crops grown on these farms."
According to a press release, Gladstone assumed lease agreements with the existing tenants, each leading growers, processors, and marketers of export-quality agricultural commodities upon the acquisition. The leases contain annual escalations throughout their respective remaining terms, which range from two years to nine years.
"This is our second large acquisition of 2017, and we are excited to enter into a new growing region," said David Gladstone, President and CEO. "These farms have a total of 19 wells onsite, giving them access to plenty of water, and this transaction allowed us to partner with yet another top grower. This is another acquisition that continues to improve the overall diversification within our farmland portfolio, which provides additional security to our shareholders."
David also shared that the company expects this acquisition to provide additional earnings, which it plans to pass on to its stockholders in the form of increased distributions. Gladstone has now increased the distributions on its common stock six times over the past 29 months for a total increase of 45%, he shared.
As Gladstone kicks off the second half of 2017 with a bang, what else is in store for the real estate investment trust? Keep following AndNowUKnow for the latest updates.
