PICO Holdings, Inc. Announces an Agreement for the Sale of 50,000 Additional Long Term Storage Credits in Arizona for Gross P...
December 29 2016 - 3:15PM
PICO Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PICO) announced today that its
wholly-owned subsidiary, Vidler Water Company, Inc., has agreed to
sell 50,000 Long Term Storage Credits stored in the Phoenix Active
Management Area of Arizona to the Central Arizona Groundwater
Replenishment District, “CAGRD”, a department within the Central
Arizona Water Conservation District, for gross proceeds of $12.5
million. The agreement is subject to final approval of CAGRD at its
January 5, 2017 public meeting. The agreement provides for
the sale to be completed in the first quarter of 2017 if all
conditions and terms, including obtaining CAGRD approval, are
satisfied.
The Long Term Storage Credits to be sold
pursuant to this agreement are incremental to the sale of 50,000
Long Term Storage Credits which was approved by the Arizona Water
Banking Authority (“AWBA”) on December 7, 2016, also for gross
proceeds of $12.5 million. The two transactions are expected to
close contemporaneously, assuming CAGRD approves the most recent
agreement at its January 5, 2017 public meeting.
Vidler’s President and Chief Executive Officer,
Dorothy Timian-Palmer commented, “Vidler is committed to working
with the State of Arizona during a particularly critical time for
the Colorado River, and all those who depend on the Colorado River
as a water supply. Vidler expects to continue to explore
opportunities for how governmental and private entities can utilize
Vidler’s Long Term Storage Credits to meet their needs due to
drought or for future water supply requirements.”
PICO’s President and Chief Executive Officer,
Max Webb commented, “As noted at the time we announced the sale of
50,000 credits to the AWBA, our Board intends to deliberate on the
optimal mechanics to return a substantial portion of the
anticipated proceeds of these transactions to our shareholders upon
receipt of such proceeds from the sales.”
About PICO Holdings, Inc.
PICO Holdings is a diversified holding
company. Currently, we believe the highest potential return
to shareholders is from a return of capital to shareholders.
As we monetize assets, rather than reinvest the proceeds, we intend
to return the capital derived therefrom, less any working capital
requirements, back to shareholders through a stock repurchase
program or by other means such as special dividends taking into
effect liquidity requirements, debt covenants and any other
contractual and legal restrictions that may exist at the time.
As of September 30, 2016, our two major
investments were:
Vidler Water Company, Inc., a water resource
development business; and a 56.9% interest in UCP, Inc. (NYSE:
UCP), a publicly-traded homebuilder and land developer in markets
located in California, Washington State, North Carolina, South
Carolina and Tennessee.
OTHER INFORMATION
At September 30, 2016, PICO Holdings, Inc. had a
market capitalization of $272 million, and 23,069,381 shares
outstanding.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
Statements in this press release that are not
historical, including statements regarding the gross proceeds from
the sale of Long Term Storage Credits, the timing for completing
the sale, our ability to satisfy all conditions and terms for the
sale, opportunities for the future sale of additional Long Term
Storage Credits, our business objectives, and our ability to
monetize assets and return capital to shareholders through stock
repurchases or through other means, are forward-looking statements
based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to
risks and uncertainties.
In addition, a number of other factors may cause
results to differ materially from our expectations, such as: an
inability to satisfy all conditions and terms for the sale, any
slow down or downturn in the housing recovery or in the real estate
markets in which UCP and Vidler operate; fluctuations in the prices
of water and water rights; physical, governmental and legal
restrictions on water and water rights; a downturn in some sectors
of the stock market; general economic conditions; prolonged
weakness in the overall U.S. and global economies; the performance
of the businesses; the continued service and availability of key
management personnel; and potential capital requirements and
financing alternatives.
For further information regarding risks and
uncertainties associated with our business, please refer to the
“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of our SEC
filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained by contacting
us at (858) 456-6022 or at http://investors.picoholdings.com.
We undertake no obligation to (and we expressly
disclaim any obligation to) update our forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, subsequent events, or
otherwise, in order to reflect any event or circumstance which may
arise after the date of this press release, except as may otherwise
be required by law. Readers are urged not to place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as
of the date of this press release.
This news release was distributed by
GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com.
Contact:
Max Webb
Chief Executive Officer
PICO Holdings, Inc.
(858) 456-6022
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