This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
PROPERTY fund manager DomaCom has welcomed the decision by S. Kidman & Co to reopen the sale process for Australian parties after billionaire Lindsay Fox tipped his hat into the bid at the 11th hour.
DomaCom chief executive Officer Arthur Naoumidis said when DomaCom entered the bidding for Kidman just before Christmas via the process of its ASIC-registered fund, there was no shortage of sceptics in the market who believed it was little more than a publicity stunt.
“But what DomaCom realised was that there was enormous interest among ‘mum and dad’ investors to invest in part of this country’s agricultural heritage.
“The end result has been that about 4,000 retail investors have pledged about $60 million over the past two months to keep Kidman station in Australian hands,” he added.
The Kidman Station is an aggregation of 16 pastoral properties across Queensland, the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia and is home to 185,000 cattle. At 101,000 square kilometres, it is larger than Ireland and almost half the size of Victoria.
Morrison blocked the proposed sale to Chinese interests in November on the basis that it would be contrary to the national interest.
Naoumidis said the decision by Kidman to reopen up the sale process to locals gives Australian interests the opportunity to acquire this pastoral empire.
“We are hopeful that the announcement by Kidman will encourage more retail investors to come forward to invest in Kidman. Aside from the issue of keeping it in Australian hands, the investment reality is that under our proposal the land will be separated from the operating business, with the land expected to return about 8%-9% to our investors.”
Seventh generation pastoralist and ASIC-licensed financial adviser Stephen Burgin, who has joined forces with DomaCom to promote its bid, said there are sound commercial reasons for retail investors to invest in Kidman Station.
“Burgeoning agricultural direct property investment, underwritten by strong domestic and export demand, should continue in the medium to long term, especially in light of sustained foreign currency exchange rates,” he added.
Australian Property Journal
