September 12, 2022

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

News broke in early August that billionaire Brett Blundy had agreed to sell the Walhallow aggregation in the Northern Territory to a Sydney-based asset manager in a record-smashing deal for A$250 million (US$172.36 million).  

At the time, it was noted that if the deal, which is being managed by Colliers, saw a successful close, it would wildly surpass the previous record price paid for an Australian cattle asset of A$180 million (US$124.1 million) hectares when Peter and Jane Hughes acquired the 438,000-hectare (1,082,321-acre) Miranda Downs station in Queensland last year.

However, Colliers now informs GAI News that the impressive Walhallow Aggregation, comprising Walhallow Station and Cresswell Downs, is being re-offered to the market after the original buyer failed to settle under the contract terms. 

Located on the northern edge of the Barkly Tablelands, Walhallow is truly massive, spanning 1,003,400 hectares (2,479,401 acres), including in excess of 61,000 head of cattle.

This asset represents one of Australia’s most highly developed, large-scale beef cattle production holdings, operating under an exceptionally low-cost production model. Improvements feature efficient water, fencing and laneway systems, and sealed road access for both live export and box beef supply chains.

Between 1987-1991, Walhallow was owned by pastoralist Janet Holmes. It  also passed through the hands of cattle barons Peter Hughes and Bill Scott, before being owned by Macquarie’s Paraway Pastoral Company from 2009-2015.

Blundy began to diversify his business interests to include cattle in 2010, and initially acquired Walhallow along with pastoralists Adrian and Emma Brown in 2015 for approximately A$100 million (US$68.94 million), setting a new benchmark at the time for a single cattle station.

Colliers Agribusiness Rawdon Briggs, Jesse Manual, Leah Freney, and James Beer are all working collectively to oversee the sale of the property, noting that the station’s expansive flood-out areas have the potential for cotton and grain production, making this investment suitable for a number of alternative future operations, while also presenting opportunities for future carbon abatement projects.

Colliers noted that this property [video] is being sold on a walk-in-walk-out basis via an International Expression of Interest processing with final bids due in October 2022. 

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief 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 Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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