Australian Financial Review | 21 July 2025
Macquarie puts its sprawling Paraway agricultural empire on the block
by Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
One of the country's biggest agricultural landholders is set to hit the auction block after Macquarie Asset Management told investors it would take its Paraway Pastoral Company to market after 17 years of ownership.
Paraway Pastoral has more than 450,000 head of sheep and cattle across 4.4 million hectares and is wholly owned by Macquarie Agricultural Funds Management. The fund told investors in a note circulated on Monday that it would sell the business after a strategic review and consultations.
Paraway Pastoral operates 28 stations across Queensland, NSW and Victoria, and exports its products to the United States, China, South Korea and Japan.
Macquarie has managed the investment since its inception in 2007, growing it from one sheep station into one of the country's top red meat production businesses. It's now looking to get on the protein craze, pitching it as a tier one, highly defensive asset that gives investors exposure to themes like population growth, rising income and health-conscious consumers.
The company could be worth more than $2.5 billion, according to people briefed on Macquarie's deliberations but not authorised to speak publicly, and the business will likely draw interest from local and international investors, including offshore pension funds. This is based on property and assets held by Paraway and a Paraway-operated trust.
The Forrest family is a major shareholder in ASX-listed Australian Agricultural Company, while billionaire Gina Rinehart controls the S. Kidman & Co portfolio.
Paraway Pastoral last reported $231 million sales revenue - livestock, crops and wool - for the year to December 31, and $42.7 million profit before tax
Grow like a weed
Macquarie Asset Management has quietly grown to become one of Australia's largest agricultural fund managers with investments in Queensland cotton farm Cubbie Station and cropping outfits Cowal Agriculture and Viridis Ag. Last year, it took a controlling stake in one of the country's largest fresh produce providers, Fresh Produce Group, for over $175 million.
Paraway Pastoral represents the second agriculture sale Macquarie will pursue in Australia after agreeing to sell grain grower Lawson Grains to agricultural asset manager New Forests in 2022 for close to $600 million.
Agriculture deals have been plentiful this year. This column revealed earlier this month that Hive & Wellness Australia, which owns Australia's No.1 honey brand Capilano Honey, has brought in Rothschild to kick off a strategic review after fielding inbound expressions of interest. Private equity is also getting its ducks in a row for T&G Global, a New Zealand-listed fresh produce player, which is exploring a potential sale or break-up. But KKR really got engines revving when it acquired ProTen, Australia's largest chicken producer, for $1.3 billion in May after a hotly contested auction.
Macquarie Capital will advise on the Paraway Pastoral sale.