Administrators of Yeeda Pastoral Company will enter another funding agreement to preserve the substantial cattle herd, the Supreme Court of Western Australia has heard.
Administrators of Yeeda Pastoral Company will enter another funding agreement to preserve the substantial cattle herd, the Supreme Court of Western Australia has heard.
WA Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Hill delivered a decision, allowing Yeeda Pastoral administrators to be relieved from future liabilities in entering a second funding deed.
In February, KordaMentha administrators Richard Tucker, Anthony Miskiewicz, and David Osborne were appointed to manage Yeeda Pastoral Co and its subsidiaries.
Yeeda Pastoral Co owns Yeeda and Mount Jowlaenga stations and Kimberley Meat Company abattoir, the only large abattoir in northern Western Australia.
In her judgment, Justice Hill accepted that additional funding was required for a muster and the care of Yeeda’s substantial cattle herd.
The deed will be entered by Yeeda group’s secured lender ADM Capital Investments, which have provided initial funding for the administration.
“Without this occurring, I accept there is a risk that the value of the cattle, which are assets of the group, will be diminished,” the judgment reads.
“The evidence of Mr Osborne is that additional funding is required to enable a muster to be conducted, and for associated practices to be undertaken, as well as for the purchase of supplementary feed and critical capital works to be undertaken.
“His evidence is that these are required to enable the plaintiffs to continue to prepare and preserve the Yeeda group for sale, as well as to manage the welfare of the cattle.”
The administrator’s first creditors report found the Yeeda group was about $103 million in debt, owing about $50.4 million to secured creditors and $53 million to unsecured creditors.
Yeeda is backed by New York-based Fitzroy River Limited and Hong Kong’s ADM Capital, which owns about 80 per cent of the business.
Fitzroy River LLC is owed $10.5 million as an unsecured creditor while ADM Capital is owed $US927,301, equivalent to $A1,422,601.21, as listed in the creditors’ report.
The report also showed ADM Capital’s Snowflake Holding claimed a $US19,773,406 debt, equivalent to $A30,334,995.12.
Yeeda’s main creditor is Commonwealth Bank of Australia, to which the pastoral company owes about $43.6 million, according to the report.
Justice Hill’s judgment revealed Commonwealth Bank will also provide further funding under the second deed to conduct the muster.
Yeeda station was placed on the market in April.
The sale process had been completed with shortlisted bidders due to submit binding bids by yesterday, according to the judgment.
The funding under the second deed is repayable by September 30 or when the sale of the assets is completed.
Last year, Yeeda’s co-founder Mervyn Key sold his shareholding to ADM Capital and resigned as the company’s chair.
Andrew and Nicola Forrest’s Harvest Road acquired a 604,000-hectare Springvale aggregation from Yeeda for $70 million in 2022.
The east Kimberley aggregation was stocked with 35,000 head of cattle at the time of the transaction, covering Springvale, Mabel Downs, Texas Downs and Alice Downs stations.
