Canadian pension fund buys Adveq’s Sunraysia almond portfolio

One of Canada’s largest pension investment managers is continuing to expand its investment in Australian agriculture, snapping up one of Australia’s biggest almond orchards.

Cracking buy: Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board has purchased 12,000ha of almond orchards in Robinvale, sold by Adveq Almond Trust II.

CANADA’S Public Sector Pension Investment Board is continuing its buy-up of Australian farmland and water, purchasing the country’s largest almond orchard.

PSP Investments, which is one of Canada’s largest pension investment managers, has acquired 12,000ha of almond orchards in Victoria’s Sunraysia for an undisclosed price.

However, selling agents CBRE expected it would fetch upwards of $300 million when it hit the market last April.

It has also bought 89,085 megalitres of permanent water entitlements from one of the world’s biggest almond producers, Olam International, for $490 million, who announced the deals this week.

It is believed the Robinvale almond orchards are one of the largest in the world.

The property portfolio included eight properties with a total land area of about 20,000ha and was owned by a consortium of international investors under the name Adveq Almond Trust II.

Investors include Swiss private equity manager Schroder Adveq and Danica Pension, one of Denmark’s largest pension funds.

Adveq purchased the orchards, excluding water, in 2014 for $211 million from Olam, which kept the water rights under a sale and leaseback agreement

Olam will continue to operate the orchards and associated water rights.

It is understood Olam purchased the portfolio and associated water rights from Timbercorp in 2009 for $288 million.

Olam’s managing director Ashok Krishen said in a statement, the deal was “consistent with our asset-light approach to tree crop production” and would “enable Olam Orchards Australia to focus on operations and continue to deliver best-in-class products and services to customers”.

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PSP Investments managing director and head of natural resources Marc Drouin said in a statement: “Our agreement with Olam Orchards Australia is consistent with our strategy to partner with best-in-class operators who take the long-term view, and to invest in high-quality agricultural assets globally. It is also quite complementary to our existing permanent crop investments around the world and represents a unique avenue to add scale, particularly in Australia.”

The deals come just months after PSP Investments, which manages the superannuation funds of Canada’s public services, armed forces and 30,000 member mounted police, launched a $854 million takeover bid for ASX-listed Webster Limited.

Webster is one of Australia’s biggest landholders and has water assets totalling more than 153,000 megalitres.

It is the latest in a string of purchases of Australian farmland by the Montreal-based fund who was also a joint buyer of cotton giant Auscott’s Midkin aggregation in northern NSW, in a deal estimated to be about $300 million.

Recent deals include: $208 million for a majority stake in the BFB portfolio of cropping farms in southern NSW; $132.7 million in a joint venture for the 9593ha Bengerang and Darling Farms aggregations in northern NSW; and $16 million for a 519ha vineyard at Cullulleraine, west of Mildura.