By Gerelyn Terzo, Global AgInvesting Media
Australia’s largest sheep station has been sold. In a deal announced by Australian ag specialist Elders, Jumbuck Pastoral is offloading its Rawlinna Station asset to the Consolidated Pastoral Company (CPC). The parties, which are keeping the price tag close to the vest, said that the sale drew significant interest from the market. The acquisition brings to a close a storied sale process during which a couple of potential buyers previously walked away. The transaction is subject to CPC obtaining the regulatory green light from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) as well as standard Western Australia government approval.
With the deal close to being completed, the industry is cheering the fact that the Western Australian sheep station will remain a sheep producer under new management considering the asset was previously on investor radars for a renewable energy project. The deal marks the first time the asset has been sold since the property was developed by grazing pioneer Hugh MacLachlan in the 1960s. According to the Australian Financial Review, Rawlinna is valued at over A$20 million (US$12.4 million).
The Consolidated Pastoral Company oversees 3.2 million hectares (7.9 million acres) of property across Australia, including 300,000 head of cattle carrying capacity over nine properties. The Rawlinna Station acquisition is a feather in its cap and marks the company’s expansion into wool production.
According to Elders Executive General Manager Tom Russo, the bidding process attracted wide interest from the industry, including large sheep producers hailing from the eastern and western coasts, new market entrants and international investors, which he attributed to a sign of “confidence in the industry.” The deal includes Rawlinna’s sheep flock, which boasts a reported carrying capacity of anywhere from 30,000 to 70,000 sheep per year.
Jumbock Pastoral’s Jock MacLachlan stated, “Rawlinna Station occupies an important space in our family’s history. We are delighted that it will be passed to a custodian the caliber of CPC, with a strong record of sustained investment in our industry and whose owner takes a multi-generational view. We look forward to seeing CPC invest in the next stage of Rawlinna’s development and the career opportunities that will be provided to the Rawlinna management team.”
CPC CEO Troy Seter assured that his company has no intentions of converting Rawlinna away from sheep production, adding, “We are excited with the acquisition of Rawlinna that will see CPC return to large scale sheep and wool production. Our owners, the Hands family, have held significant sheep production properties in the U.K., and we believe now is a good me to invest in Australia’s sheep and wool industry. Rawlinna represents an opportunity for us to reenter the Australian sheep production space at scale and accelerate our ambition of building out a quality diversified portfolio by both geography and production type. We now have assets in cattle, goat, sheep and wool production, natural capital and over 20,000 hectares of cropping capacity.”
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