Metlife Investment Management Achieves 40% Growth In Total Agricultural Mortgage Loan Assets Under Management Over Five-Year Period

MetLife Investment Management (MIM), the institutional asset management business of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), announced that it originated $4.0 billion in agricultural mortgage loans across over 400 notes in 2022. MIM’s total agricultural mortgage loan assets under management reached $21.6 billion,¹ up 40% over the five-year period ending December 31, 2022. MIM maintained its position as the largest, non-governmental sponsored source of agricultural mortgage capital for the sector.²

“In 2022, agricultural producers benefited from high commodity prices that solidified their financial positions,” said Robert Merck, global head of Real Estate and Agriculture at MetLife Investment Management. “MIM is proud to have been able to continue our support of these critical agriculture producers’ growth and stability last year. We strongly value our lending relationships, many of which have been forged over decades, and look forward to continuing our role as a key capital source for agricultural mortgage lending.”

“MIM’s team, with deep relationships and an extensive network in local communities, worked to support our borrowers in their acquisition and expansion of prime farm and ranch lands, timberlands and food and agribusiness operations,” said Greg Gallaway, head of MIM’s Agricultural Strategies group, “Our continued strong origination volume reflects the team’s commitment to deliver bespoke financial solutions to our borrowers. We remain committed to providing capital to producers that support the needs of a growing global population.”

Highlights of MIM’s 2022 agricultural lending transactions³ include:

Biagi & Associates, LLC

• $70 million fixed rate financing with a 15-year term
• Secured by 650,000 square foot temperature-controlled wine storage warehouse located in American Canyon, Calif., in the heart of Napa Valley
• Biagi Bros, Inc. (BBI), a related party, offers both inter- and intra-state common carrier services with a fleet of more than 270 trucks making BBI an integral part of the national beverage supply chain in the United States

Farmland Partners Inc. (FPI)

• $75 million variable revolving line of credit financing with a five-year term
• Secured by 12,000 acres of farmland in Illinois
• FPI is a publicly traded, internally managed REIT that seeks to acquire high-quality farmland throughout North America. The land is leased to farmers, who collectively grow 26 different crop types
• As of December 31, 2022, FPI owns/manages approximately 196,100 acres of farmland in 19 states

Toor Farming LLC

• $126 million ARM financing transaction with a 20-year term and a $10 million revolving line of credit financing with a 10-year term
• Secured by over 8,375 acres in the San Joaquin Valley
• Toor Farming grows a combination of permanent crops including almonds, pistachios, walnuts and wine grapes

Grupo Heras

• $35 million fixed-rate financing with a 15-year term loan
• Secured by over 3,700 acres and two packing facilities in Sonora, Mexico
• Third-generation family-owned business that started operations in the 1960s
• Grows and processes zucchini, Brussels sprouts and table grapes
• Dedicated to meet demands of supermarkets in the highest per capita markets in the U.S., their products are now in Costco, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s

Gateway Arch Timber, LLC

• $100 million variable revolving line of credit financing with a 10-year term
• Secured by over 94,000 acres across nine states in the southern U.S.
• Part of the loan will be used to finance future timberland acquisitions
• Operates with the stewardship priorities and sustainability principles of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative