Roc Partners makes offer for Vitalharvest property trust

Roc Partners is attempting to trump Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Asset’s last offer for horticultural property trust Vitalharvest with a higher counterbid.

Vitalharvest Property Trust owns Australia’s largest aggregation of berry and citrus farms. Picture: Zoe Phillips

THE bidding wars have started for horticultural property trust Vitalharvest, with Australian private equity firm Roc Partners lodging a $314.8 million offer late yesterday.

The non-binding proposal of $1.08 cash for each Vitalharvest share by way of a trust scheme comes a month after Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets upped its bid for the collection of berry and citrus farms to $1.025 a share, following an initial offer back in November last year to acquire all units in the trust for $1, or if that failed to attract enough support among shareholders, buying the assets for $300 million.

Roc Partners’ proposal — which represents an 8 per cent premium to MIRA’s offer — involves $1.08 for each Vitalharvet unit by way of a trust scheme. If this isn’t approved by a majority of shareholders, $314.8 million has been offered for the trust’s four berry and three citrus properties across NSW, Tasmania and South Australia. The properties are all leased to Costa Group.

Aside from its superior price, the deal mirrors MIRA’s latest bid, which includes the provision that Vitalharvest would pay a distribution of 2.5 cents a share from rent received for the first half year ending December 31 last year.

Vitalharvest’s responsible entity Perpetual said it was assessing the Roc proposal and would alert the market once it has done so.

Roc Partners have been busy investing in Australian agricultural assets, including Capilano Honey, south coast oyster producers Australian Oyster Coast, Wagyu beef growers Stone Axe, Victorian tomato business Flavorite, chicken producers ProTen and raw milk producer Made by Cow.

Vitalharvest’s half-yearly results, released today, reveal revenue was $13.8 million in the six-months to the end of December last year, compared to $9.4 million for the same period in 2019.

Profit was up marginally to $16 million, up $1.63 million on the previous year.

Shareholders were due to meet on March 4 to implement MIRA’s trust scheme or asset sale, in the absence of a superior bid.

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MACQUARIE INFRASTRUCTURE AND REAL ASSETS GROUP MAKE $300M BID FOR VITALHARVEST

PRIMEWEST BUYS INTO VITALHARVEST BERRY AND CITRUS FARMS