US-based agribusiness company Alico has acquired three citrus producers in Florida, for an accumulated value of around $363m.
Of the total investment, around $274m was paid to acquire Orange-Co and $72m for Silver Nip Citrus, while Gator Grove was given the remainder $16.6m.
With this acquisition, Alico's citrus division will become the largest citrus producer in the country and will be capable of producing 10 million boxes annually.
Alico CEO Clay Wilson said: "These transactions are transformative for our citrus business and represent a major step forward in our strategy to become a leading agriculture and natural resources company by identifying and executing on accretive growth opportunities.
"We intend to continue to target attractive markets and establish leading positions in our different business lines where scale and expertise can generate strong returns for our investors."
Alico Board of Directors chairman Hank Slack said: "With the support of our Board of Directors, we have taken these actions to meaningfully enhance our position in the citrus industry. We have done this by maintaining our focus on the return characteristics of each of our assets and, where appropriate, redeploying capital to seek higher returns.
"We believe that what we have done in the citrus space can be replicated across our other business lines to further strengthen and grow the Alico franchise."
