February 3, 2020

By Lynda Kiernan

Rallen Australia, a South Africa-based company backed by Givanni Ravazzotti, one of South Africa’s richest men, his daughter Luciana Ravazzotti Langenhoven, and his son-in-law Pierre Langenhoven of Sydney, Australia, has spent $70 million to acquire two Northern Territory cattle stations from Thames Pastoral. 

Thames Pastoral, a subsidiary of Insight Global Farmland Fund Ltd, which itself is a fund of UK-based asset manager Insight Investment, acquired the stations in 2012 for approximately $33 million from pastoralist Sterling Buntine. 

The two stations – Tanumbirini and Forrest Hill – are located 600 kilometers southeast of Darwin, and total 559,370 hectares (1.38 million acres) with a carrying capacity of 40,000 head.

Since 2012 upgrades at Tanumbirini have included the addition of 14 new bores, and 70 tanks and piping, as well as 21 new generators and three solar installations with submersible pumps, resulting in the station having a total of four cattle yards, 34 main paddocks, 38 bores, 112 tanks, more than 216 artificial water points, creek systems, permanent holes, and 20 turkey nest tanks.

Forrest Hill has two cattle yards with 1,500-head capacity each, seven main paddocks, three laneways, 13 bores, five dams, and 24 tanks. And both stations have highway frontage and homesteads.

The sale of both stations was managed by Rawdon Briggs and Bram Pollock with Colliers International, and Geoff Warriner and Chris Holgar of JLL.

“We had one of the strongest online campaigns ever with over 8,900 property video views, and 330 digital Information Memorandum views since launching,” said Briggs. 

This purchase builds upon an already growing portfolio of properties for the Langenhoven family, having acquired more than 1.1 million hectares (2.7 million acres) of grazing land in the Territory through Rallen Pty Ltd. over the past two years.

In 2018 the family acquired the 71,000-hectare Mt McMinn Station, and 70,800-hectare Big River Station for $7.5 million and $5.5 million respectively, and in May 2019 the family acquired the 376,000-hectare Kalala Station for $58 million.

The transaction includes 36,400 head of cattle plus followers, and the transfer of the pastoral lease is subject to approval from the Northern Territory Minister for Environment and Natural Resources.

“The properties have been developed in recent years through upgrades to stock water, pipelines, yards, fencing and homestead buildings,” noted Warriner. “Further development opportunities exist to unlock full value especially considering that the assets are situated on top of the Beetaloo Basin gas reserves.”

– Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to the GAI News and Agtech Intel platforms. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.