Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, is steering her cattle empire in a different direction as she takes millions of acres of land from her company S Kidman & Co.
The properties, located across Queensland and the Northern Territory, were put up for sale in November.
The company said it focused its attention on expanding its grain-fed Santa Gertrudis and Kidman Premium beef brands, which “use a combination of Santa and Wagyu genetics.”
Founded in the late 1800s, S Kidman and Co is jointly owned by Mrs. Rinehart’s Hancock Agriculture and China’s CRED Pastoral since 2016.
The company confirmed the sale of its stations in Durrie, Naryilco and Glengyle on Tuesday.
It did not confirm a sale price, but the Australian Financial Review reported it was around $200 million.
Property mogul and Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart (pictured) unloads cattle stations in Durrie, Naryilco and Glengyle and Brunchilly as she seeks to diversify her wealth
Ms. Rinehart continues to wind down her livestock holdings, while her company S Kidman & Co confirms the sale of four more properties. The move comes after Rinehart sold the 171,000-acre Willeroo Station for $40 million in 2021 (pictured)
The land sold by Mrs. Rinehart is larger than Denmark, with the properties acquired by the Appleton Cattle Company, with a fourth site, Brunchilly Station in the Northern Territory, purchased by the Harris family.
“The above sales have received all necessary regulatory approvals and have been completed, with the formal handover to the new owners having just taken place,” the company said in a statement.
The sale of these properties is consistent with S Kidman & Co’s strategy to divest properties where significant investment has improved them by focusing on essential maintenance and specific areas including improved animal welfare and worker safety, the use of technology and innovation and improvements in the herds.’
S Kidman & Co will retain four existing properties in Queensland and the Northern Territory, but will continue to diversify its assets, shifting its focus to a mix of Santa Gertrudis and Wagyu cattle – both highly sought-after beef breeds.
The properties span approximately two million acres and are located in Helen Springs in the NT, and Morney Plains, Durham Downs and Rockybank in Queensland.
Kidman & Co will continue to focus on expanding its grain-fed Santa Gertrudis and Kidman Premium beef brands, which use a combination of Santa and Wagyu genetics and are served in many premium restaurants both domestically and abroad the company statement said.
“The sale of these stations will help provide additional capital to focus on the purchase and improvement of other properties for S. Kidman & Co.’s agricultural operations.”
Spikes in commodity prices have bolstered Ms Rinehart’s position as Australia’s richest person in 2023, according to the Australian Financial Review’s most recent list of rich people
Spikes in commodity prices have cemented Ms Rinehart’s position as Australia’s richest person by 2023, according to the Australian Financial Review’s most recent list of rich people.
The mining tycoon is Australia’s largest landowner, but has continued to sell off land in recent years after Hancock Prospecting’s financial accounts showed the livestock trade is nowhere near as lucrative as the company’s main earner, iron ore.
However, Mrs. Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting still owns several pasture and arable farms in NSW, Queensland and Western Australia, and runs one of Australia’s largest herds of thoroughbred Wagyu cattle.
The mining tycoon is Australia’s largest landowner, but has continued to sell off land in recent years after Hancock Prospecting’s financial accounts showed the livestock business is nowhere near as lucrative as the company’s main earner, iron ore (pictured). : mining site in WA)
In September 2022, Ms. Rinehart sold approximately $100 million in assets to local beef producers, including the 200,000+ acre Nerrima Station in West Kimberley.
At the start of the year, Ms Rinehart’s investment firm also listed a 531m2 site in Noosa, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, for $17.2 million, having acquired it in February 2022 for $11. 2 million.
Obviously, Ms. Rinehart and her associates have nearly $75 million worth of sites in the area.
In March 2021, the real estate mogul put up for sale $300 million worth of properties consisting of six cattle stations, one rangeland and 110,000 head of cattle across Western Australia and the Northern Territory, including the 171,000 acre Willeroo Station.
