The $55 million sale of Yeeda Pastoral Company out of administration to a Canadian super fund has finally been completed, more than one year after the bid was made.
The $55 million sale of Yeeda Pastoral Company out of administration to a Canadian super fund has finally been completed, more than one year after the bid was made.
Alberta Investment Management Corporation bid for the company in August last year, one month after it was placed into voluntary administration with a debt bill in excess of $100 million.
Yeeda is the parent company of the Kimberley Meat Company abattoir between Derby and Broome, and the Yougawalla Pastoral Company, which holds 475,000 hectares of pastoral leases covering Yeeda and Mt Jowlaenga stations.
Finalisation of the sale makes AIMCo the largest pastoral leaseholder in Western Australia, with some 2.85m hectares under management.
An AIMCo spokesperson told Business News the sale had been finalised and the company was now working with its investment team to develop the properties.
The most important order of business for Kimberley pastoralists will be the reopening of the abattoir, which they are hoping to do late next year after upgrading the facility.
The abattoir has been in and out of service since it opened in 2016 due to supply constraints and cost pressures.
AIMCo wants to build better efficiency into the processor to make it a profitable venture and offer a custom kill service to local pastoralists wanting to tap the paddock-to-plate market.
Pardoo Beef and Kimberley Aboriginal Pastoral Company both have interests in stations close the abattoir, sell their own branded beef, and could benefit from such a service.
AIMCo is also planning to improve infrastructure on its pastoral leases to finish off stock in the region which would enable supply to continue to the abattoir for most of the year.
That would require investment in feedlotting and water infrastructure.
As well as the YPC leases, AIMCo holds the leases for Bulka, Margaret River, Moola Bulla, Mt Amhurst, Beefwood Park, and Shamrock stations in the Kimberley.
AIMCo and New Agriculture bought the stations from Sino-Australian billionaire Hui Wing Mau for $300m in 2023.
New Agriculture and AIMCo also manage the sprawling Lawson Grains portfolio, which owns about 40,000 hectares of farmland in WA.
The sale of Yeeda to AIMCo was held up due to legal proceedings associated with the administration.
