Dec 23, 2023 16:00:00

Microsoft acquires vast pumpkin farm land for over 10 billion yen

Microsoft has agreed to acquire 407 acres (1.6 square km) of land in Wisconsin, USA, owned by the Kreuziger family for a total of $76 million (approximately 11 billion yen), local media outlet

Milwaukee Business Journal reported. I reported it. The land Microsoft acquired was used for a pumpkin farm.

Microsoft completes purchases of Mount Pleasant sites, pays hold-out landowner $76 million - Milwaukee Business Journal
https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2023/12/20/microsoft-corp-foxconn-mount-pleasant-purchase.html

Wisconsin pumpkin farm owners get $76 million Microsoft payday - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/22/24012534/microsoft-wisconsin-pumpkin-farm-foxconn-76-million-mount-pleasant

In 2017, the Wisconsin government planned to acquire a large tract of land owned by the Kreuziger family in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, as part of a deal with Foxconn , the world's largest electronics manufacturing (EMS) company. .

At that time, the purchase price offered for the land owned by the Kreuziger family was about one-third of Microsoft's purchase price. The Kreuziger family rejected this offer and waited for a better offer.

In return, Microsoft has agreed to acquire 407 acres of land for a total of $76 million. 'The Kreuziger family wishes Mount Pleasant and Microsoft the best of luck and appreciates that people respect our privacy,' David Burns, an attorney for the Kreuziger family, told the Milwaukee Business Journal. I did.

Microsoft's payment amount is significantly higher than the assessed value at the time of writing the land article. The land owned by the Kreuziger family was valued at $174,200 (approximately 25 million yen) at the beginning of 2023, but after making improvements, the value rose to $598,400 (approximately 85 million yen). Dan McHugh, who conducted the assessment, told The Verge.

The land that the Kreuziger family is selling to Microsoft also includes a pumpkin farm called

Giant's Land Pumpkin Farm and a maze made of corn. The land that Microsoft recently acquired is adjacent to another 641 acres (approximately 2.6 square km) of land that the company acquired for a total of $99.7 million (approximately 14 billion yen).

Microsoft's ultimate goal is to build a data center campus on a large tract of land in Mount Pleasant. Microsoft plans to invest more than 1 billion dollars (about 140 billion yen) in this land. Microsoft initially planned to employ 200 employees at the data center campus to be built in Mount Pleasant, but the number of employees could eventually rise to more than 460. is.

Meanwhile, the factory that Foxconn planned to build on land in Mount Pleasant was expected to create 13,000 jobs.