Olam completes US$110m sale of California orchards to US farmland Reit

COMMODITIES supplier Olam International announced on Dec 1 it has completed the sale of its 5,100 acre (around 2,100 hectares) Edible Nuts orchards to Farmland Partners Inc (FPI) for US$110 million in cash.

Olam will continue to operate the orchards for the next 25 years and will pay FPI, one of the largest listed farmland real estate investment trusts (Reit) in the US, a share of the annual revenue under the revenue-sharing model agreed between both parties.

At the sale's announcement on Sept 22, Olam's managing director and CEO of Edible Nuts, Ashok Krishen said that Olam intends to further invest in growing almonds, pistachios and walnuts in California.

Olam's shares were trading at S$2.23 as at 1.02pm on Friday, down S$0.01 or 0.45 per cent.