Limoneira Completes Asset Sales Totaling $10.5 Million
Santa Paula, CA
By Eric Anderson
4.16.13
Limoneira Company has recently completed two substantial asset sale transactions, generating a total of 10.5 million in proceeds, according to a release.
On April 11th, the company completed the sale of 165,000 shares of Calavo Growers, Inc. common stock to Calavo Growers at a price of $29.02 per share. The sale resulted in net proceeds of approximately $4.8 million and a gain of $3.1 million.
On April 8, 2013, the company entered into a purchase and sale agreement of its non-core East Ridge property in located Santa Barbara County for $6.0 million. The transaction is estimated to generate net proceeds of approximately $5.7 million. After transaction costs, the company estimates that it will incur a non-cash impairment charge of approximately $1.8 million.
Limoneira intends to use the net proceeds to reduce its long-term debt and make strategic investments into its growth initiatives, including real estate development and agribusiness expansion.
"These recent transactions are in-line with our long-term strategy to opportunistically monetize our assets in order to improve our balance sheet and provide us with additional capital to invest into our business, including investments into our real estate development projects and potential agribusiness acquisition opportunities. Calavo Growers is a leader in the avocado industry and is one of our key agribusiness partners. We believe avocado consumption will continue to expand for many years to come, which will benefit both Calavo Growers and Limoneira. We continue to own a significant number of shares of Calavo Growers stock, and remain confident in the long-term value of this investment," said Harold Edwards, President and Chief Executive Officer.
