Australia’s richest woman Gina Rinehart tours S. Kidman & Co. Adelaide headquarters
AUSTRALIA’S richest woman, Gina Rinehart, has toured the North Adelaide headquarters of the Kidman pastoral empire that her joint venture company is taking over.
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AUSTRALIA’S richest woman, Gina Rinehart, evoked family history stretching back almost a century as she yesterday toured the North Adelaide headquarters of the Kidman pastoral empire for the first time.
The tycoon met S. Kidman & Co staff, days after the sale to Australian Outback Beef was completed. She is the new principal owner and chairman.
Mrs Rinehart’s consortium is vowing to keep the Adelaide head office and jobs, as well as create up to another 100 jobs in regional communities across Australia during the next few years.
“It’s exciting to be at the Kidman Adelaide head office, the headquarters of such an iconic company,” said Mrs Rinehart, the Hancock Prospecting Group’s executive chairman.
“It’s been 18 months of uncertainty for the staff and I hope they are pleased they now have more certainty and a majority owner who values the Kidman legacy.”
Mrs Rinehart said she was proud that Kidman founder Sir Sidney Kidman and her grandfather, James Nicholas, were long-term friends and business partners. “I’m a great admirer of my grandfather ... who my mother always let me know was a very fine gentleman and person – in fact, a great Australian,” Mrs Rinehart said.
She attended the annual Kidman staff Christmas party and, at a morning tea, was presented with a Kidman branding iron.
S. Kidman & Co managing director Greg Campbell said he had been looking forward to meeting and welcoming Mrs Rinehart, who he described as a “iconic Australian”.
The joint venture between Mrs Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting and Chinese company Shanghai CRED – on Monday transferred the sale price of $386.5 million.
AOB’s original bid of $365 million was bettered by in late October by an all-Australian offer from four wealthy farming families, but Ms Rinehart — Australia’s wealthiest woman with a fortune of more than $6 billion — came in over the top soon after to seal the deal.
On the weekend, Ms Rinehart said she had been delighted by the support her offer had received from Kidman shareholders.
“Kidman is an iconic pastoral business, founded by an outstanding Australian, and one I greatly admire,” she said.
Earlier this month, Treasurer Scott Morrison signed off on the sale after previously twice knocking back offers from majority-owned Chinese consortiums on the grounds they were “contrary to the national interest”.
Mrs Rinehart has emphasised the new ownership deal reduces the amount of foreign ownership of the Kidman group from 34 per cent to 33 per cent.
Asked to comment this morning on reports she was funding a new Australian Conservatives party spearheaded by South Australian Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi, Mrs Rinehart said: “I can’t comment on gossip but I certainly think highly of Cory Bernardi.”