March 23, 2022

photo credit: LAWD

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Following the recent and very successful divestment of its 22,386-hectare (55,317-acre) Corinella Group in December 2021 for more than AUD360 million (US$269 million), Proterra Investment Partners has placed its remaining three aggregations on the market at a collective value of AUD400 million (US$295 million). 

Record-breaking sale prices combined with favorable growing conditions, bumper crops, and strong grain prices have been the impetus for large-scale Australian farming properties being listed amid strong competition between bidders. And for Proterra, after eight years of overseeing improvements on these highly productive assets, combined with a strong market, and the short-term nature of the fund, now is presenting itself as an optimum exit window to realize maximum return for investors.

“It is a great time to capitalize on the existing strong market while there is insatiable appetite from investors who want to enter or expand in the agriculture space,” said Becs Willson, managing director, Proterra. 

While the Corinella Group consisted mainly of grain producing assets in Victoria and South Australia, the last three portfolios currently being marketed include not only grain, but also sugarcane, horticulture, and livestock operations located across Queensland, Tasmania, and New South Wales.

Being offered are:

Vaucluse: 4,448 hectares (10,991 acres) is a combination of two adjacent properties in the Midlands of Tasmania with widely developed irrigation systems across 2,598 hectares with the remainder of the land dedicated to dryland cropping and grazing with additional rotation crops including poppies, potatoes, carrots, and hemp.

“While these are only auxiliary to the cereal operations, the diversification means in any given season there will be at least one commodity in exceptionally high demand, making the asset an excellent hedge,” noted Willson, who goes on to explain how Proterra worked to develop this asset into one of the top grain producing properties in the state.

“Operating a five-year crop rotation across the farm, we have established Vaucluse as a high-caliber, large-scale cereal producer to benefit from strong demand from the Tasmanian livestock and aquaculture industries in an operating environment where there is limited local production.”

With water entitlements totaling 15,273 megaliters and water storage capacity of 9,000 megaliters, Vaucluse also includes a 5,424-ton grain storage facility, historic buildings, and modern infrastructure, including a 10-bedroom homestead. 

Danny Thomas, senior director LAWD, who is managing this sale added, “This level of water security provides abundant opportunity for summer and winter cropping, while its fertile soils, ideal climate conditions and efficient irrigation systems also provide an outstanding prospect to be further developed into a vineyard enterprise.”

One Tree: 23,594 hectares (58,302 acres) is a diverse portfolio including 21 different and wide-flung holdings from Goondiwindi and Jandowae in Queensland and North Star in New South Wales, that Proterra has converted from grazing to producing wheat, barley, chickpeas, fava beans, cotton, and sorghum.

The portfolio includes 48,000 tons of total grain of added storage and strategically curated water with institutional buyers in mind, however, bids are also expected from local farming families. 

“The scale and geographic spread offered by One Tree is very special, with a lot of time and effort having been spent strategically aggregating land and water to create this A-grade institutional portfolio,” said Thomas. 

“While, One Tree has been developed with an institutional buyer in mind, we are expecting strong bids from farming families, and can accommodate multiple transactions in this deal, as we did with Corinella Farms, if required.”

Racecourse: 14,425 hectares (35,645 acres) is located in Queensland comprising three aggregations that are widely irrigated, producing sugarcane and beef. Proterra acquired Racecourse, which is the largest continuous sugarcane farm in the region, in 2013. Since then, the asset manager has built out the portfolio through the acquisition of cattle stations to shift back to sugarcane operations with extensive water entitlements through flood, center pivot, and lateral irrigation methods, and 2,140 megaliters of water storage.

The assets also offer close proximity to sugar mills and ports. 

“We’re very proud of what we have achieved with Racecourse. We have employed sophisticated agronomic methods and best industry practice across the portfolio to become one of the largest private producers of sugarcane in Australia,” said Willson.

Danny Thomas noted that macadamia production has been gaining ground in the region, giving a buyer the opportunity to continue the evolution of Racecourse from sugarcane into nuts saying, “Racecourse has undergone significant investment in developing the land beyond grazing pastures, and there is a natural evolution in that region from sugarcane into macadamia production.”

“Proterra has done an outstanding job strategically aggregating land and water assets into highly productive aggregations, now worth more than $400 million, across a wide range of geographies and commodities,” said Thomas.

“Given these factors, we expect the different portfolios to appeal to various categories of investors and we anticipate a very high level of research given the global demand for assets of this quality in this class.”

Expressions of interest are due to LAWD for by April 28 for Vaucluse, and by May 5 for One Tree and Racecourse. For more information contact Danny Thomas at 0439 349 977, or Elizabeth Doyle at 0400 102 439.

– Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com. 

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