MetLife Agricultural Loans Reach $3.2 Billion in 2015
February 01 2016 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Insurer is One of the Largest Agricultural
Lenders with Its $13.2 Billion Portfolio
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) announced today that it originated $3.2
billion in agricultural loans in 2015 through its Agricultural
Investments Department. MetLife is one of the largest agricultural
mortgage lenders in North America with a portfolio of $13.2 billion
as of September 30, 2015, the largest in the company’s history.
“MetLife had a busy year lending to its agricultural customers
in the United States and abroad, growing our portfolio to a record
level in 2015,” said Robert Merck, senior managing director and
global head of agricultural investments for MetLife. “We are
approaching our 100th anniversary as an agricultural lender, so our
customers know that they can rely on MetLife as a trusted source of
financing for the long-term growth of their business, and this
drives our success year after year.”
Agricultural investments are an important part of MetLife’s
asset-liability matching program. The long-term nature of these
investments makes them a good match for the long-term liabilities
the company writes.
In 2015, the average loan-to-value ratio of MetLife’s overall
agricultural mortgage portfolio was 43 percent.
“We are proud of our performance in 2015, growing our portfolio
to a record $13.2 billion despite lower commodity prices and the
drought in California,” said Barry Bogseth, managing director and
head of MetLife’s agricultural portfolio unit. “In 2016, we expect
to continue our growth by identifying superior agricultural lending
opportunities in the United States and abroad.”
Highlights of MetLife’s domestic and international agricultural
lending transactions for 2015 include:
GP Irrigated Farms, LLC
- $26 million, 25-year term loan fixed
for 10 years
- Secured by improved farmland and water
rights located in southeast Colorado
- Security is used for the production of
dairy feedstuffs, including alfalfa
Hartung Brothers, Inc.
- $11.2 million, 10-year fixed rate
- Secured by improved farmland located in
south central Wisconsin
- Security is used primarily for the
production of seed corn and vegetables
Seanaria Farms, LLC
- $47.55 million, 20-year variable rate
loan
- Secured by high quality irrigated
farmland located in the San Joaquin Valley of California
- Security is used for the production of
almonds and pistachios, one of many properties under the Maha
Investments LLC umbrella, managed by a family with decades of
experience in tree nut production
Lex Richland L.P.
- $110 million, 10-year fixed rate
loan
- Secured by a 456,412 square foot cold
warehouse and distribution facility located in Washington State
operated to provide refrigerated storage and logistics services to
a packaged foods company
- Lex Richland L.P. is an affiliate of
Lexington Realty Trust. Financing was arranged through Holliday
Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.
Acadian Timber Corp.
- $82.5 million, senior secured, in two
tranches: $72.5 million five-year fixed and $10 million revolving
line of credit with a five-year term
- Secured by timberland located in Maine
and in New Brunswick, Canada
- Acadian Timber Corp. is a leading
supplier of primary forest products in Eastern Canada and the
Northeastern U.S. The assets are managed by Brookfield Asset
Management, a global alternative asset manager.
MetLife’s Agricultural Investments Department oversees an
agricultural portfolio consisting primarily of mortgages for farms,
ranches, food production, agribusiness and timberland. MetLife has
provided agricultural financing solutions since 1917 and is one of
the largest agricultural mortgage lenders in North America. MetLife
has agricultural investments offices in Fresno, Calif., Overland
Park, Kan., Memphis, Tenn., and a consulting office in Sao Paulo,
Brazil.
About MetLife, Inc.
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and
affiliates (“MetLife”), is one of the largest life insurance
companies in the world. Founded in 1868, MetLife is a global
provider of life insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset
management. Serving approximately 100 million customers, MetLife
has operations in nearly 50 countries and holds leading market
positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe
and the Middle East. For more information, visit
www.metlife.com.
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Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates. These statements are based
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involve a number of risks and uncertainties that are difficult to
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Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or
implied in the forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties,
and other factors that might cause such differences include the
risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in MetLife,
Inc.’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Annual Report”)
filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”),
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed by MetLife, Inc. with the SEC
after the date of the Annual Report under the captions “Note
Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors,” and other
filings MetLife, Inc. makes with the SEC. MetLife, Inc. does not
undertake any obligation to publicly correct or update any
forward-looking statement if MetLife, Inc. later becomes aware that
such statement is not likely to be achieved. Please consult any
further disclosures MetLife, Inc. makes on related subjects in
reports to the SEC.
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MetLife, Inc.Fred Pieretti,
347-265-8515fpieretti@metlife.com
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