As industry watchers await to see the outcome of a possible S. Kidman sale, Rifa Salutary, the Australian unit of China’s Zhejiang Rifa Holding Group, has acquired farms across New South Wales worth approximately $50 million, and is seeking further major acquisitions, according to Australian Financial Review.
As Rifa Salutary head, David Goodfellow noted to Farm Weekly that newly adopted foreign investment regulations have thinned out the numbers of overseas buyers, particularly large U.S. and Chinese investors looking to secure deals for Australian agricultural assets, Rifa has purchased seven farms, the largest being the 22,548 hectare Cooplacurripa Station that runs 5,000 head of cattle in New South Wales for a reported $29 million.
"We are looking to build a portfolio of properties in Victoria to complement our existing property Blackwood, but also to build the portfolio in NSW and southern Queensland. Cooplacurripa fits into this strategy,” said Rifa chief executive David Goodfellow, reports Farm Online. Rifa already owns Blackwood station in Victoria where the company invested $1.2 million on infrastructure improvements.
The purchase, which includes two additional riverfront properties for an added $3 million, has been approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board (IFRB). The total 2,340 hectare property includes 8,000 cattle horse and equipment and will be used as a nursery for 6,000 breeder cows. The calves sources from the operation will be shipped to improved pasture for six months in the Gravesend district where Rifa’s Salutary Pastoral will assume three additional farms totaling 4,050 hectares come June, reports Farm Weekly.
Other recent purchased by Rifa, who’s parent company, Zhejiang Rifa owns agricultural assets in China, Brazil, Kazakhstan, and Argentina, include two properties adjacent to Cooplacurripa – the Kerriki and “Number One” for $3.5 million, that boast a combined acreage of 1,457 hectares. Four additional acquisitions totaling 4,050 hectares – Highland Plain, Avondale, Stonefield, and a portion of Durkin at Warialda have also been purchased for between $12 million and $14 million.
“We think the new capital coming into the country is better placed to invest in these businesses, instead of just following the big corporate transactions," said Goodfellow, reports AFR. "So far our model has been to own and operate properties, but we are not precluded from taking on partnerships."
Goodfelllow, who is also the former chief executive at Elders, told AFR that the company has also not excluded the possibility of investing in related assets including feedlots and abattoirs despite current supply shortages.