Saturday, April 30, 2016 1:36:53 AM
S. Kidman and Co enters deal for a foreign takeover of the majority of the iconic Australian cattle company
ABC Rural ABC Rural reporters
Updated 19 Apr 2016, 3:35pm
Photo: One of the company's properties, Anna Creek, is the biggest cattle
station in the world at 23,000 square kilometres. (ABC News: Kerry Staight)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-19/the-anna-creek-property/6934750
Related Story: Government blocks sale of Australia's largest cattle holdings, S. Kidman & Co to foreign buyers
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-19/kidman-cattle-sale-to-be-rejected/6934670
Map: Parliament House 2600
http://www.google.com/maps/place/Parliament%20House%202600/@-35.3167,149.1333,5z
S. Kidman and Co has named a new Chinese-Australian consortium as the preferred buyer for most of its iconic cattle station holdings.
The sale cannot proceed without the approval of the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and the Treasurer Scott Morrison, who has extended the time available for his consideration of the sale beyond the expected July election.
South Australia's Anna Creek Station, which is adjacent to the rocket testing range at Woomera, is not included in the sale.
The value of the deal is $370.7 million.
In a statement released on Tuesday afternoon, Kidman announced it has entered into an agreement with a consortium lead by Dakang Australia Holdings and the ASX-listed Australian Rural Capital (ARC).
Under the proposal, Dakang would take an 80 per cent stake in the sale, with ARC taking 20 per cent.
Dakang Australia's parent company is Hunan Dakang Pasture Farming, a private Chinese company with no government ownership.
Its major shareholder is Shanghai Pengxin Group, which owns a 55 per cent stake in the company.
Shanghai Pengxin has previously been considered a frontrunner to buy the Kidman properties.
Dakang Pasutre Farming and has interests in pork, beef and sheep, as well as a significant stake in New Zealand's dairy sector.
ARC's executive chairman, James Jackson, is also deputy director of Australian agribusiness Elders, as well as a former chairman of MSF Sugar.
Anna Creek carve-out allows sale to proceed
The ABC can reveal that the prospective buyer of Anna Creek is the South Australian owned and operative, Williams Cattle Company.
It already owns five cattle stations in SA’s north, including one which adjoins Anna Creek.
But that deal will only proceed if and when the FIRB approves the broader sale to the Chinese-led consortium.
Kidman had planned to sell all its assets to a foreign buyer, before that proposal was rejected by the Treasurer in November 2015 .. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-19/kidman-cattle-sale-to-be-rejected/6934670 .
Mr Morrison cited concerns about Anna Creek's size, and its proximity to the weapons testing range at Woomera, in rejecting the deal.
"We welcome foreign investment, but as Treasurer I will always make sure that that investment is done in Australia's national interest," he said at the time, noting the government would consider any "future alternate proposal or set of proposals on its merits".
At more than 23,600 square kilometres, Anna Creek represents a quarter of Kidman's land holding.
The company, surprised by the Treasurer's decision, announced in December that it would take Anna Creek off the table .. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-11/kidman-carves-out-anna-creek-in-repackaged-sale/7021262 .. for prospective foreign buyers, offering it for sale only to existing shareholders or other Australian buyers.
Managing director Greg Campbell said at the time that such a division of assets was "undesirable in an operational sense, [but it] was required to address the national security and portfolio land area concerns of the Commonwealth Government".
An iconic cattle station and national defence concerns
Family-owned S. Kidman & Co is Australia's largest private landholder, with properties covering 101,000 square kilometres in Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland.
Founded in 1899 by Sir Sidney Kidman, it grew to become one of the country's largest beef producers, with a herd of 185,000 cattle supplying markets in Japan, the United States and South-East Asia.
Anna Creek Station is the largest single property holding in Australia.
--
Foreign investment in Australian agriculture
* Calving it up: who owns Australian food production
http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/specials/foreign-ownership/
* A quarter of Northern Territory pastoral lease land held by foreign interests
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-16/foreign-interests-have-a-hand-in-a-quarter-of-nt-cattle-farms/6752400
--
It's not the first time the Australian Government has expressed concerns about foreign ownership in and adjacent to the Woomera Prohibited Area.
Former Treasurer Wayne Swan blocked a Chinese state-owned firm from buying parts of Oz Minerals in 2009, citing proximity of one of the mining company's projects to the test site.
After the deal was rejected in November, Kidman's Greg Campbell said the company had ensured all potential buyers completed due diligence in an attempt to mitigate any issues surrounding national security.
"We certainly were well aware and made potential buyers for the business aware that they had to make applications to the Department of Defence in relation to the purchase of the part of Anna Creek that within the Woomera rocket range," Mr Campbell said at the time.
"So all the shortlisted buyers who made applications, whether domestic or offshore, were of the full understanding that the Department of Defence held the right to veto over who might be considered an owners for portions of land within the Woomera rocket range."
He said he was surprised by the government citing the size of Kidman's holding as another factor in rejecting the sale, saying that Kidman is Australia's largest cattle holding by land size, it was not as big as other companies, which have foreign owners, by herd size.
"For example Consolidated Pastoral Company has a herd twice the size of Kidman and is 90 per cent foreign owned. The Australian Agricultural Company has a cattle herd that's nearly three times the size of Kidman and is majority foreign owned," Mr Campbell said.
"Kidman has become a specialist in arid zone pastoralism, and as a result we've got a big foot of country in the dry part of the interior and that's a large area. It's the large area that's the problem."
Infographic: S. Kidman and Co's cattle stations are spread out over 101,000 square
kilometres of central Australia. (Supplied)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-19/kidman-property-map/6954786
First posted 19 Apr 2016, 3:12pm
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-19/kidman-enters-deal-with-dakang-australian-rural-capital/7129298
---
Open doors for investment dollars: foreign capital in Australian agriculture
ABC Rural ABC Rural Reporters
The debate over foreign investment in Australian agriculture is clouded in politics, ambition and fear. It polarises farmers, political parties,
investors and the community. Yet foreign investment in Australian agriculture has been a reality for decades and in some cases, centuries.
At the heart of the current discussion is our ability to meet future food challenges in Australia and overseas.
[...]
The global share in Australian sugar
* Singapore: 53 per cent
* Thailand: 10 per cent
* Belgium: 5 per cent
* China: 4 per cent
* Australia: 28 per cent
Source: Canegrowers industry statistics based on 2010 tonnages
[...]
Active grain handlers* in the 2009-10 Australian harvest
* Cargill (United States): 18 per cent (approx)
* Glencore (Switzerland): 16 per cent (approx)
* CBH (Australia): 16 per cent (approx)
* GrainCorp (Australia): 9 per cent (approx)
* Emerald/Sumitomo (Australia/Japan): 8 per cent (approx)
* Elders/Toepfer (Australia/Germany): 5 per cent (approx)
* A number of smaller grain storage and marketing companies account for another 28 per cent (approx) of grain purchases in 2009-10.
*Handlers include companies involved in the transport, storage and marketing of Australian grain.
Source: ABARES
[...]
Tasmania's dairy industry is heavily reliant on foreign investment. Its oldest dairy processor, Van Diemen's Land Company (VDL), has been in foreign hands for close to 200 years and the Tamar Valley Dairy recently sold to New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra.
While international ownership is nothing new, the story of these two processors highlights the mixed messages sent to some global businesses.
A recent Van Diemen's Land Company (VDL) tender for a multi-million dollar equity investment, sparked community and media concern about a possible Chinese takeover. At least one Chinese company dropped out of the process as a result of the negative press.
Yet last month Tamar Valley Dairy, a wholly-Australian owned dairy processor, was sold to a New Zealand agribusiness giant, without a murmur about foreign takeovers.
Jane Ryan and Rosemary Grant report on the long history of foreign investment in dairying in Tasmania and an apparent contradiction in what the community will and won't accept. Read more .. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-08/tas-foreign-investment-feature-dairy/5139758 .
[...]
Foreign investment isn't anything new for Australia's wine industry. From the big brands to family run vineyards, international deals are happening all the time and no one seems too fussed about it.
[...]
Domestic 'capital bucket' falls short for Australian horticulture
The chief executive officer of Australia's largest horticultural production and distribution business says foreign investment has allowed the business to grow and thrive.
Interested in more? .. :) .. ok .. http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/specials/foreign-ownership/
In light of the foreign investment existing in rural Australia today, and in light of the history of it, it sure looks a case of political consideration
going bonkers in bowing to popular 'Zoooooooenophobia' (have a look at the comments in those two articles) at election time. Or whenever.
ABC Rural ABC Rural reporters
Updated 19 Apr 2016, 3:35pm
Photo: One of the company's properties, Anna Creek, is the biggest cattle
station in the world at 23,000 square kilometres. (ABC News: Kerry Staight)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-19/the-anna-creek-property/6934750
Related Story: Government blocks sale of Australia's largest cattle holdings, S. Kidman & Co to foreign buyers
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-19/kidman-cattle-sale-to-be-rejected/6934670
Map: Parliament House 2600
http://www.google.com/maps/place/Parliament%20House%202600/@-35.3167,149.1333,5z
S. Kidman and Co has named a new Chinese-Australian consortium as the preferred buyer for most of its iconic cattle station holdings.
The sale cannot proceed without the approval of the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and the Treasurer Scott Morrison, who has extended the time available for his consideration of the sale beyond the expected July election.
South Australia's Anna Creek Station, which is adjacent to the rocket testing range at Woomera, is not included in the sale.
The value of the deal is $370.7 million.
In a statement released on Tuesday afternoon, Kidman announced it has entered into an agreement with a consortium lead by Dakang Australia Holdings and the ASX-listed Australian Rural Capital (ARC).
Under the proposal, Dakang would take an 80 per cent stake in the sale, with ARC taking 20 per cent.
Dakang Australia's parent company is Hunan Dakang Pasture Farming, a private Chinese company with no government ownership.
Its major shareholder is Shanghai Pengxin Group, which owns a 55 per cent stake in the company.
Shanghai Pengxin has previously been considered a frontrunner to buy the Kidman properties.
Dakang Pasutre Farming and has interests in pork, beef and sheep, as well as a significant stake in New Zealand's dairy sector.
ARC's executive chairman, James Jackson, is also deputy director of Australian agribusiness Elders, as well as a former chairman of MSF Sugar.
Anna Creek carve-out allows sale to proceed
The ABC can reveal that the prospective buyer of Anna Creek is the South Australian owned and operative, Williams Cattle Company.
It already owns five cattle stations in SA’s north, including one which adjoins Anna Creek.
But that deal will only proceed if and when the FIRB approves the broader sale to the Chinese-led consortium.
Kidman had planned to sell all its assets to a foreign buyer, before that proposal was rejected by the Treasurer in November 2015 .. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-19/kidman-cattle-sale-to-be-rejected/6934670 .
Mr Morrison cited concerns about Anna Creek's size, and its proximity to the weapons testing range at Woomera, in rejecting the deal.
"We welcome foreign investment, but as Treasurer I will always make sure that that investment is done in Australia's national interest," he said at the time, noting the government would consider any "future alternate proposal or set of proposals on its merits".
At more than 23,600 square kilometres, Anna Creek represents a quarter of Kidman's land holding.
The company, surprised by the Treasurer's decision, announced in December that it would take Anna Creek off the table .. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-11/kidman-carves-out-anna-creek-in-repackaged-sale/7021262 .. for prospective foreign buyers, offering it for sale only to existing shareholders or other Australian buyers.
Managing director Greg Campbell said at the time that such a division of assets was "undesirable in an operational sense, [but it] was required to address the national security and portfolio land area concerns of the Commonwealth Government".
An iconic cattle station and national defence concerns
Family-owned S. Kidman & Co is Australia's largest private landholder, with properties covering 101,000 square kilometres in Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland.
Founded in 1899 by Sir Sidney Kidman, it grew to become one of the country's largest beef producers, with a herd of 185,000 cattle supplying markets in Japan, the United States and South-East Asia.
Anna Creek Station is the largest single property holding in Australia.
--
Foreign investment in Australian agriculture
* Calving it up: who owns Australian food production
http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/specials/foreign-ownership/
* A quarter of Northern Territory pastoral lease land held by foreign interests
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-16/foreign-interests-have-a-hand-in-a-quarter-of-nt-cattle-farms/6752400
--
It's not the first time the Australian Government has expressed concerns about foreign ownership in and adjacent to the Woomera Prohibited Area.
Former Treasurer Wayne Swan blocked a Chinese state-owned firm from buying parts of Oz Minerals in 2009, citing proximity of one of the mining company's projects to the test site.
After the deal was rejected in November, Kidman's Greg Campbell said the company had ensured all potential buyers completed due diligence in an attempt to mitigate any issues surrounding national security.
"We certainly were well aware and made potential buyers for the business aware that they had to make applications to the Department of Defence in relation to the purchase of the part of Anna Creek that within the Woomera rocket range," Mr Campbell said at the time.
"So all the shortlisted buyers who made applications, whether domestic or offshore, were of the full understanding that the Department of Defence held the right to veto over who might be considered an owners for portions of land within the Woomera rocket range."
He said he was surprised by the government citing the size of Kidman's holding as another factor in rejecting the sale, saying that Kidman is Australia's largest cattle holding by land size, it was not as big as other companies, which have foreign owners, by herd size.
"For example Consolidated Pastoral Company has a herd twice the size of Kidman and is 90 per cent foreign owned. The Australian Agricultural Company has a cattle herd that's nearly three times the size of Kidman and is majority foreign owned," Mr Campbell said.
"Kidman has become a specialist in arid zone pastoralism, and as a result we've got a big foot of country in the dry part of the interior and that's a large area. It's the large area that's the problem."
Infographic: S. Kidman and Co's cattle stations are spread out over 101,000 square
kilometres of central Australia. (Supplied)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-19/kidman-property-map/6954786
First posted 19 Apr 2016, 3:12pm
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-19/kidman-enters-deal-with-dakang-australian-rural-capital/7129298
---
Open doors for investment dollars: foreign capital in Australian agriculture
ABC Rural ABC Rural Reporters
The debate over foreign investment in Australian agriculture is clouded in politics, ambition and fear. It polarises farmers, political parties,
investors and the community. Yet foreign investment in Australian agriculture has been a reality for decades and in some cases, centuries.
At the heart of the current discussion is our ability to meet future food challenges in Australia and overseas.
[...]
The global share in Australian sugar
* Singapore: 53 per cent
* Thailand: 10 per cent
* Belgium: 5 per cent
* China: 4 per cent
* Australia: 28 per cent
Source: Canegrowers industry statistics based on 2010 tonnages
[...]
Active grain handlers* in the 2009-10 Australian harvest
* Cargill (United States): 18 per cent (approx)
* Glencore (Switzerland): 16 per cent (approx)
* CBH (Australia): 16 per cent (approx)
* GrainCorp (Australia): 9 per cent (approx)
* Emerald/Sumitomo (Australia/Japan): 8 per cent (approx)
* Elders/Toepfer (Australia/Germany): 5 per cent (approx)
* A number of smaller grain storage and marketing companies account for another 28 per cent (approx) of grain purchases in 2009-10.
*Handlers include companies involved in the transport, storage and marketing of Australian grain.
Source: ABARES
[...]
Tasmania's dairy industry is heavily reliant on foreign investment. Its oldest dairy processor, Van Diemen's Land Company (VDL), has been in foreign hands for close to 200 years and the Tamar Valley Dairy recently sold to New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra.
While international ownership is nothing new, the story of these two processors highlights the mixed messages sent to some global businesses.
A recent Van Diemen's Land Company (VDL) tender for a multi-million dollar equity investment, sparked community and media concern about a possible Chinese takeover. At least one Chinese company dropped out of the process as a result of the negative press.
Yet last month Tamar Valley Dairy, a wholly-Australian owned dairy processor, was sold to a New Zealand agribusiness giant, without a murmur about foreign takeovers.
Jane Ryan and Rosemary Grant report on the long history of foreign investment in dairying in Tasmania and an apparent contradiction in what the community will and won't accept. Read more .. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-08/tas-foreign-investment-feature-dairy/5139758 .
[...]
Foreign investment isn't anything new for Australia's wine industry. From the big brands to family run vineyards, international deals are happening all the time and no one seems too fussed about it.
[...]
Domestic 'capital bucket' falls short for Australian horticulture
The chief executive officer of Australia's largest horticultural production and distribution business says foreign investment has allowed the business to grow and thrive.
Interested in more? .. :) .. ok .. http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/specials/foreign-ownership/
In light of the foreign investment existing in rural Australia today, and in light of the history of it, it sure looks a case of political consideration
going bonkers in bowing to popular 'Zoooooooenophobia' (have a look at the comments in those two articles) at election time. Or whenever.
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”
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