Macquarie’s 4.4 million-hectare pastoral empire to hit the market
Macquarie is poised to sell its mammoth Paraway Pastoral Company portfolio, which could field multibillion-dollar offers from foreign wealth funds and Aussie red-meat giants.
Australia’s second-largest agricultural investor by value is poised to cash in on its flagship pastoral enterprise spanning a whopping 4.48 million hectares.
Macquarie Asset Management sent a letter to investors on Monday notifying them it would look to sell the mighty Paraway Pastoral Company, bringing to an end a 17-year ownership that began in 2007. The move comes as the business is now considered a fully scaled, global tier-one agricultural asset.
Paraway Pastoral Company runs a mix of more than 220,000 cattle and 250,000 sheep across 28 properties in Queensland, NSW and Victoria. The business also includes extensive dryland and irrigated cropping operations.
While Macquarie has not confirmed a value, industry sources estimate the business could fetch upwards of $2.5 billion — and as much as $3 billion.
Sources briefed on deliberations, but not authorised to speak publicly, told The Weekly Times that Macquarie was exploring options to allow investors to realise their gains and position Paraway for the next phase of its ownership.
According to industry, potential suitors for the Paraway assets could include major North American wealth funds such as Canada’s PSP Investments and US-based fund manager Nuveen Natural Capital, backed by the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America — both of which already manage multibillion-dollar agricultural holdings in Australia.
Other likely contenders include major red-meat producers such as the ASX-listed Australian Agricultural Company, as well as billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart, whose Hancock Agriculture and S. Kidman & Co businesses control a vast network of pastoral properties across the nation.
It is understood Macquarie is under no obligation to sell and a final decision will depend on what offers it receives during its review. No details of a formal sales campaign to sell Paraway have been revealed.
Macquarie has run Paraway Pastoral since 2007, expanding it into one of the nation’s largest red meat producers, aggregating 35 properties into 28 pastoral businesses employing 200 people.
Paraway Pastoral’s first property was the historic NSW Riverina sheep stud Pooginook near Jerilderie, now covering 19,656ha.
Paraway owns landmark assets including the 1.51 million-hectare Davenport Downs at Winton in Queensland and the 1.02 million-hectare Tanbar Station at Windorah.
Its portfolio also comprises vast holdings in the NSW Riverina, including the iconic Mungadal at Hay (116,994 hectares), Cooinbil at Coleambally (89,040 hectares) and Steam Plains at Conargo (46,395 hectares). In Victoria, it owns the 8244ha Barton property near Moyston and 3024ha Beckworth Court at Clunes.
Two years ago, Macquarie tested the market when it listed three Paraway farms spanning more than 40,000ha combined, offering the 14,326ha Borambil Station near Condobolin, the 23,905ha Pier Pier Station aggregation near Coonamble and the 5456ha Burmah aggregation near Graman.
It went on to sell both Borambil and Burmah in deals worth more than $100 million combined, while electing to retain Pier Pier.
Macquarie is also no stranger to offloading major agricultural enterprises, having sold its 105,000ha dryland cropping business, Lawson Grains, in 2021 in a $600m deal with the Canadian superannuation giant Alberta Investment Management Company (AIMCo) and Sydney-based investment manager New Forests.
Macquarie’s other major Australian agricultural assets include the nation’s biggest cotton farm, Cubbie Station near Dirranbandi in Queensland, comprising 93,000ha of land, including 22,000ha of irrigated cropping fields. Macquarie acquired 100 per cent ownership of the business in 2022 from China’s Shandong Ruyi.
Macquarie also operates the 5976ha Cowal Agriculture, near Emerald in central Queensland, bought for $120m-plus in 2022 plus Virdis Ag, a broadacre cropping business founded in 2017 operating 12 aggregations across 122,750ha in Western Australia, South Australia, and NSW.
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