Australia

The world’s largest manager of farmland assets, Nuveen Natural Capital, has taken advantage of Treasury Wine Estates’ decision to downsize its commercial wine business after acquiring water rights and 434 ha of its orchards.

Joe Lewis, the main shareholder of Australian Agriculture, a company that owns about 1 per cent of the Australia’s land mass, has pleaded guilty in a US court to insider trading.

Australia-based specialist private markets investment manager Roc Partners is to acquire 25% of the portfolio of rural land assets of New Zealand Rural Land Company for about $44 million.

The largest grain growing operation in Western Australia is expected to fetch close to $200 million after its owners, the Saudi Arabian government and a Perth-headquartered agricultural fund decided to sell.

The Costa family has joined other wealthy families and an institutional investor in piling into a $120 million equity raising to fund the acquisition and development of three irrigation properties.

Some of Western Australia's most sought-after cattle country is set to move from Chinese to Canadian ownership in a newly struck deal.

Impact Ag Partners recently joined SLM Partners to launch the SLM Agri Carbon Fund – a new investment vehicle to back regenerative agriculture and carbon storage in Australia.

The founder of debt ladden Chinese property developer Shimao Group Holdings has put a Western Australia cattle station portfolio almost as big as Belgium on the market with an asking price of about $250 million.

Over the last three years, Australia’s agriculture and farmland have been in high demand for institutional investors in Canada searching for diversification and sustainability.

Pastoral Partners Australia, a carbon farming and sustainable grazing fund owned by New Zealand infrastructure investor Morrison & Co, has lifted the size of its portfolio to over 100,000 hectares.

The board of Australia’s largest fruit and vegetable company, Costa Group, has agreed to a cut-price $1.5 billion takeover offer from a consortium headed by private equity firm Paine Schwartz Partners.

Institutional investors, large corporates and big family operators are expected to dominate demand for prime farmland this financial year as smaller farmers’ buying power takes a hit from higher interest rates, lower profits.