MORE than $1 billion worth of Australia’s northern pastoral country has been traded in the past two months in what’s being hailed as the biggest every shake-up of the sector.
All told, 31 stations carrying about 600,000 cattle have changed hands since January – and more sales could follow.
Several different factors are driving the ownership changes.
The Australian Agricultural Company's sales and purchases - if finalised - represent a reshuffling of its property portfolio to take advantage of the buoyant live cattle trade and relatively strong demand for grass-fed cattle, while slashing up to two-thirds of its $425 million debt.
"We have made strategic changes in our production mix," says AACo chairman Charles Bright.
"We've laid the support for our belief that grass-fed beef is going to be in greatest demand. The prices we received were all equivalent to net tangible asset value (about 70pc higher than AACo's sharemarket value). We have therefore demonstrated the real value of these properties."
Melbourne barrister Allan Myers, who sold his two NT stations - Litchfield and Tipperary - to AACo and pocketed a net $15 million, now has 19.9pc of the company and a big say in its future, if not effective control. He can now buy an extra three per cent equity every three months without having to make a takeover offer.
*Extract from exclusive report to appear in Stock & Land, February 26.
Email a friend