AFA offloads iconic Riverina properties in $780 million sale to Agriculture & Natural Solutions Acquisition Corporation
Bert Glover will lead the group aiming to purchase some of the Riverina’s most iconic properties. Image: Supplied
By Krista Schade
Australian Food and Agriculture (AFA) has sold its 225,000 hectares of sheep, cattle, and cropping lands in the districts of Deniliquin, Hay, and Coonamble, including iconic Australian Merino sheep stations Boonoke and Wanganella.
As part of its portfolio AFA also owned about 57,600 hectares near Hay, including the Burrabogie, Kolora, Wahwoon and Mulberrygong properties.
The Deniliquin portion of the portfolio comprises about 123,000 hectares including landmark stations Wanganella and Boonoke as well as the Baratta, Peppinella, Warriston and Zara properties.
The Coonamble group of farms, north of Dubbo, span 44,800 hectares including Wingadee and Netherway stations.
A US-listed company will take ownership if the $780m deal is given the green light by the Australian government’s Foreign Investment Review Board.
The buyers have been revealed as a group of investors, including Bert Glover, founder of the Australian and US-owned specialist agricultural investment and development firm Impact Ag Partners, which has offices in Armidale in NSW and Montana in the US.
Mr Glover grew up in the Yass area on his family's Merino property, and spent his early years working in the industry as a jackaroo next door to Boonoke, at 'Willura' and 'Egelabra' at Warren.
Agriculture & Natural Solutions Acquisition Corporation [ANSC] is self-described as a “special purpose acquisition company” led by Impact Ag Partners founder, Mr Glover. Based in Armidale, NSW, ANSC was formed to develop and advance a platform that decarbonises the agriculture sector and enhances natural capital at scale.
Listed on the NASDAQ, ANSC is backed by US asset-management firm Riverstone Holdings and Impact Ag Partners, the Australian specialist agricultural investment and management company. Together, ANSC’s sponsors bring 18 years’ experience in low-carbon investments, including regenerative agriculture at scale.
“The new company will be publicly listed, and open to anyone to buy shares through a trusted, transparent market,” Bert Glover, ANSC CEO told The Riverine Grazier.
“It’s not just existing shareholders, but investors around the world who’d like to buy into building the future legacy of these iconic Australian properties, governed by an experienced board of directors.
“Upon closing, we expect the post-closing board of the new company to be comprised of seven directors, including two designated by current AFA shareholders who roll a portion of their ownership into the new company, Riverstone's David Leuschen, myself, and three independent directors.”
Following the sale, the combined business will be named Agriculture & Natural Solutions, and will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ‘AFAE.’
If the purchase was successful Mr Glover said his intention would be for businesses to run as usual with all current staff retained, and will also include over 55,000 megalitres of water entitlements.
“ANSC looked at over 100 companies around the world before agreeing on the purchase of Australian Food & Agriculture - and the team running the AFA aggregation is as good as they come.,” Mr Glover said
“It’s our hope that the 70 management and support staff will work with us to write the next chapter in the proud history of these properties.”
“It’s early days, with the sale still subject to approval of shareholders and the Foreign Investment Review Board.
“But the scale, diversity, and performance of the AFA business is what attracted us in the first place, so we’re not expecting to make drastic changes to any of it: the livestock, irrigated cropping, dryland cropping, Merino studs or feedlot operations.”
AFA listed the properties in late 2023, following the death in 2022 of owner Colin Bell. The properties were previously listed in 2017 for more than $300 million but did not sell.
