The $1.05 billion company is the nation’s largest cattle herd operator and owns about 6.4 million hectares,equivalent to 1 per cent,of Australia’s landmass.
British billionaire Joe Lewis,who owns Premier League soccer team Tottenham Hotspur,owns a controlling stake in AACo of nearly 51 per cent through his own investment vehicle Tavistock. A month after Tavistock’s holding pushed past the 50 per cent mark in mid-September,AACo announced that long-time board director Tom Keene was retiring,to be replaced by Tavistock vice president Sarah Gentry.
Loading
Forrest,the Fortescue Metals Group founder and chairman,has a number of Australian brands in his shopping cart,including iconic leather bootmaker R.M.Williams as well as an 11.5 per cent stake in Vegemite owner Bega Group.
“There is a strong focus on domestic agricultural plays within[Forrest’s] investment framework inthe likes of Bega,thelikes of Tassal,which hassubsequently been acquired,andHuon in the past,” said Wilson Asset Management senior investment analyst Shaun Weick.
Tribeca Investment Partners lead portfolio manager Jun Bei Liu described AACo as “very asset rich” and said the billionaires were likely jostling to unlock the company’s untapped value.
“If managed properly,some of those assets are very,very precious. You can convert that into very high returning assets – as you know,a lot of those things are very hard to come by whether it’s land or wagyu herds,” she said.