Farmland Partners Inc. Announces Agreement to Acquire 8,638 Acres of Illinois Farmland for $55.3 Million

DENVER, Dec. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Farmland Partners Inc. (NYSE: FPI) (the "Company") today announced that it has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire 8,638 acres of row crop farms in Illinois for total consideration of $55.3 million in cash. The Company intends to fund the transaction with proceeds from its recent public offering of common stock and new secured debt to be entered into upon closing of the transaction.

While no lease agreements have been entered into at this time, the Company intends to negotiate new lease agreements with multiple tenants. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, subject to customary closing conditions.

"These two farms of approximately 3,800 and 4,900 acres represent a truly unique investment opportunity in the Midwest," said Paul Pittman, CEO of the Company. "We expect significant long term appreciation on these properties due to their size and the incredibly efficient operating environment we expect to provide to our tenants."

About Farmland Partners Inc.

Farmland Partners Inc. is an internally managed real estate company that owns and seeks to acquire high-quality North American farmland and makes loans to farmers secured by farm real estate. The Company owns or has under contract (excluding the properties to be acquired upon completion of the Company's pending merger with American Farmland Company) 124,295 acres in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. The Company elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, commencing with the taxable year ended December 31, 2014.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements," including within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements about the timing of the acquisition and the sources of funds to be used in the acquisition. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which may be beyond our control. We caution you that the forward-looking information presented in this press release is not a guarantee of future events, and that actual events may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking information contained in this press release. In addition, forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "plan," "seek," "comfortable with," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe" or "continue" or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology. Any forward-looking information presented herein is made only as of the date of this press release, and we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events, or otherwise.

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SOURCE Farmland Partners Inc.