By Brazil Stock Guide – SLC Agrícola SA (B3: SLCE3; ADR: SLCJY) has reached an agreement with Grupo Radar to acquire part of a rural land portfolio in Mato Grosso, reducing the size of a transaction that had initially involved the company’s right of first refusal over the full asset package.
The Brazilian farming company said it will buy 8,900 arable hectares from the so-called Mato Grosso Block for R$669 million. The deal includes existing infrastructure on the property, such as silos, a cotton processing unit and other operational improvements.
Excluding infrastructure valued at about R$29.7 million, SLC said the bare arable land is worth R$639.3 million, implying a price of roughly R$72,000 per arable hectare.
The agreement follows a negotiation process triggered after other lessees of the same portfolio also exercised their own rights of first refusal. As a result, the Mato Grosso Block will be split among the buyers, with each party paying an amount linked to the size and quality of the area acquired.
SLC already operated part of the land through lease contracts, producing soybeans, corn and cotton under a crop-rotation system that includes second-crop planting. Of the 17,600 hectares it currently operates in the area, SLC will acquire 8,900 hectares and keep another 8,700 hectares under lease.
The remaining leased area will be governed by different contract terms. About 5,300 hectares will remain leased until the 2029/30 crop season, while 900 hectares will remain leased until the 2026/27 crop season. Another 2,500 hectares will be re-contracted with the new owner, Santa Maria Holding Ltda., for 15 years after the current agreement expires, at a cost of 19.5 bags per hectare.
The payment will be made in two installments. SLC will pay R$255.2 million upon signing, with the amount deposited into an escrow account, and the remaining R$413.9 million by October 30, 2026.
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