U.S.-based hedge fund and Cargill subsidiary, Black River Asset Management has spent $30 million in an off-market deal to acquire four grain farms covering 7,000 hectares in Queensland, Australia. The farms produce summer wheat which is harvested from March through May, and summer sorghum which is harvested in October to be provided as feed grains to the beef, pork, poultry, and dairy industries. Black River’s Australian portfolio includes the Marwood Farm sugar cane property which it bought in a joint venture with Mackay Sugar in 2013 for $10.5 million, and a 70% stake in the $186 million unlisted agricultural land and logistics company BFB Group which owns the coveted 1,875 hectare cropping and pastoral property, Billabong Station. Black River Asset Management is an independently managed subsidiary of Cargill, which in Australia oversees grain, oilseeds, and cotton origination, and provides food and feed to the Southeast Asian and Japanese markets.
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