PICO Holdings, Inc. Announces Closing of the Sale of 100,000 Long Term Storage Credits in Arizona for Gross Proceeds of $25 Million; Additionally, PICO in Receipt of Final Proceeds of $6 Million From the Sale of Its Canola Seed Crushing Operations

LA JOLLA, Calif., Feb. 07, 2017 -- PICO Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PICO) announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Vidler Water Company, Inc. has closed on two sales totaling 100,000 Long Term Storage Credits stored in the Phoenix Active Management Area of Arizona to the Arizona Water Bank Authority and the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District.  Vidler received aggregate gross proceeds of $25 million from the sales. The Company will record the transactions during the first quarter of 2017 and as a result, expects to report income before taxes of approximately $12.5 million related to the sales.

Additionally, the Company announced that it has received final sale proceeds of $6 million that had been held in escrow in connection with the sale of its canola seed crushing plant and operations in 2015.

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 our business objectives, our income before taxes related to the sales, our ability to return a substantial portion of the proceeds from the sales to shareholders and the timing thereof, 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: 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
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
PICO Holdings, Inc.
(858) 652-4114