Chinese-Australian tycoon sells Kimberley cattle stations in $300m deal
Multi-billionaire Hui Wing Mau has sold off almost three million hectares of Kimberley cattle country, in one of the biggest rural deals of the year.
Chinese-Australian property multi-billionaire Hui Wing Mau has sold off almost three million hectares of West Australian Kimberley cattle country to a Canadian and local investment consortium for close to $300m in one of the biggest rural deals of the year.
The exit by the Hui family’s private vehicle comes amid the dramatic fall out from China’s property crisis, which has seen big name companies teeter on the brink of collapse and most pull back from grand plans to expand in Australia.
The portfolio of cattle stations, known as the Kimberley Cattle Portfolio, span an area that has been compared to the European nation of Belgium and has been sold off to Alberta Investment Management Corporation and local manager New Agriculture.
Mr Hui, the founder of the Shimao Property empire in China, put the 2.9 million-hectare Kimberley Cattle Portfolio on the block in October, with the move coming almost a year after rumours that he would exit.
The Hong Kong-based Australian citizen, via his Archstone Investment Group, will remain invested separately in Australia. Shimao owns a major Sydney office block which is slated to make way for luxury apartments to cash in on the luxury boom.
His wealth ranked at $2.99bn on The Australian’s Richest 250 List on the back of Mr Hui founding the Shimao property empire in 2001. But it has been hit by China’s dramatic property slump.
Shimao Group Holdings posted a 48.6 billion yuan ($10.33bn) loss for 2021 and 2022 and undertook a debt restructuring after missing repayments on a $US1bn offshore bond and facing legal action for loan breaches.
Hui has sold off projects to help improve Shimao’s financial situation. He has Australian citizenship after earning an MBA from the University of South Australia in the 1990s.
The Kimberley Cattle Portfolio was among his largest local undertakings. The large-scale cattle breeding business spans almost 3 million hectares in WA’s Kimberley Region. The portfolio consists of seven pastoral leases (1,828,692ha), and five subleases (924,325ha), as well as an agreement over 153,475ha.
AIMCo is one of Canada’s top investment managers and invests globally for funds in the province of Alberta. It has been in Australia for years and has holdings in forestry and forged into agriculture via its purchase of mixed farming business Lawson Grains in 2022.
New Agriculture is a local agriculture manager, set up to manage Lawson Grains and to build a portfolio of agriculture assets globally, starting in Australia and New Zealand. The firm is backed by global manager New Forests.
AIMCo head of infrastructure and renewables resources Ben Hawkins said the Kimberley Cattle Portfolio was AIMCo’s first investment in the sector, and was an established and well-managed asset that provides important diversification.
New Agriculture director Bruce King said the portfolio offered “a key opportunity to manage for strong investment outcomes alongside leading sustainability objectives”.
“With up to 25 per cent of the solution to climate change expected to come from the land use sector, we have a responsibility to manage these landscapes for sustainability outcomes, and with our local communities in mind,” he said.
As part of the agreement, Haydn and Jane Sale will be retained as managers of the Kimberley-based portfolio.
The sale was handled by LAWD senior director Danny Thomas and directors Simon Wilkinson and Elizabeth Doyle.
The financial details have not been disclosed, and the deal is subject to approval by the Foreign Investment Review Board and Western Australia Lands Department, which are expected to be completed by the first half of 2024.
The stations operate as a single large-scale portfolio, running about 45,000 to 50,000 breeders.
The Hui family started putting the portfolio together in 2017 when it bought the 356,000ha Yougawalla, 273,000ha Bulka and 214,000ha Margaret River stations from former adman Harold Mitchell.
That $70m purchase laid the foundation for a series of purchases of subleased pastoral leases: 161,000ha Louisa Downs, 141,000ha Bohemia Downs, 80,000ha Carranya Station and 182,000ha Lamboo Station.
The group also purchased properties including the 395,000ha Moola Bulla and 260,000ha Mt Amhurst, both near Halls Creek, 206,000ha Beefwood Park near Fitzroy Crossing and 178,000ha Shamrock near Broome.
Water is a key feature of the stations due to frontages to the Margaret River, Mary River, Louisa River and Christmas Creek, in addition to extensive underground water resources.
Archstone Investment separately paid $120m for a majority stake in NSW meat processor and exporter Bindaree Beef Group in 2017.
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