One Tree Agriculture, a subsidiary of U.S.-based investment group Proterra Investment Partners, is moving to divest a dryland cropping aggregation west of Goondiwindi, in southern Queensland, Australia, with a target of as much as $30 million.
The aggregation, which totals 9,129 hectares of dryland cropping operations, is comprised of a number of assets including the Kinbeachie, Morville, and Birribindibil properties.
“The aggregation features characteristics of a highly productive broadacre cropping platform,” Danny Thomas of CBRE Agribusiness, who is handling the Expression of Interest for the offering told the Goondiwindi Argus. “The scale, operational efficiency, fertile soils and location highlight the aggregation’s suitability for summer and winter cropping.”
The aggregation will be offered either as a whole, or by parcel depending on buyers’ wishes, according to Simon Cudmore of CBRE.
“There is a genuine opportunity for corporates, families and individuals to secure part or all of the offering as they see fit,” said Cudmore.
“The significant land development of the aggregation over the past couple of years, coupled with a management focus on soil health means the aggregation is positioned on a rising plane of production.”
Kinbeachie, a part of the aggregation at 5,902 hectares, was acquired by One Tree Agriculture from the Australian Pastoral Company in the spring of 2016 – the same year that Proterra was spun out of Black River Asset Management by Cargill.
On September 28, 2015 Cargill announced it was splitting Black River into three companies under a planned restructure aimed at making the company lighter on its feet and more able to quickly respond to a fluctuating commodities market. Of the three planned companies, Proterra was the largest with 49 employees and offices in London, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, New Delhi, Sao Paulo, and Buenos Aires at the time, according to Reuters, and investments spanning Asia, Australia, sub-Saharan Africa, and South America according to Ned Dau, chief marketing officer and head of investor relations for Proterra. Today, Proterra is an independent, stand-alone, employee-owned firm.
-Lynda Kiernan