Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart yesterday increased her joint offer with a Chinese company for one of the world’s biggest cattle estates, to fend off a rival bid by an all-Australian consortium.
Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting Pty and Chinese property developer Shanghai CRED Real Estate Stock Co (上海中房置業) raised their offer from A$365 million to A$386.5 million (US$279 million to US$295 million) for Australia’s biggest private landowner — cattle firm S. Kidman & Co — days after four wealthy grazier families launched their own A$386 million bid.
The local families had argued their proposal was better as it did not need approval from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).
While the Kidman sale has attracted keen interest from Chinese firms wanting to secure the sprawling pastoral empire, the Australian government has previously rejected two Chinese-led bids, citing the national interest.
The Rinehart-led bid was supported by Kidman’s board, which “unanimously recommended” it to their shareholders in the absence of a superior proposal.
“Under the Hancock [joint venture] offer the core Kidman business will remain intact and the Kidman staff and legacy will be looked after,” Kidman chairman John Crosby said in a statement.
Rinehart, Australia’s richest woman, also pledged to buy Kidman fully if the Australian-Chinese joint offer — in which Hancock acquires 67 percent of Kidman and Shanghai CRED 33 percent — was knocked back by Canberra or Beijing.
“I stand behind the bid and should FIRB or PRC [People’s Republic of China] approvals not be achieved, then Hancock will proceed with the acquisition on a 100 percent basis,” Rinehart said in a statement. “I hope this provides shareholders with significant comfort and that when they consider the offer they can do so in the knowledge that there is no FIRB or PRC execution risk, and further that we have the money to invest to properly maintain the stations and their hard-working staff.”
Shanghai CRED was part of a Chinese consortium involved in the previous offers. The Chinese stake in the new joint bid, if approved, would be significantly smaller. The first Chinese-led bid was rejected in November last year.
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