Denver’s Farmland Partners Inc. has further increased its holdings, paying nearly $32 million for a 7,400-acre farm in Louisiana, officials announced Monday.
The terms of the agreement also include a three-year lease with the seller of the property. The $31.8 million transaction is scheduled to close in the first quarter of the year.
The acquisition is Farmland Partners’ third-largest to-date, officials for the real estate investment trust said. A “substantial portion” of the property is dedicated to rice, allowing for Farmland to further diversify its crop holdings, officials said.
Officials credited the Louisiana farm purchase to Farmland Partners’ totaling 22,300 acres in Illinois. Farmland Partners intended to use the newly acquired properties as collateral for a $100 million loan to fund additional acquisitions.
Shares of Farmland Partners (NYSE: FPI) gained 29 cents, or more than 2.6 percent, in morning trading to $11.30.
Alicia Wallace: 303-954-1939, awallace@denverpost.com or @aliciawallace
