Australia’s Kimberly Meat Co. and its subsidiaries have been bought out of administration by a Canadian investor.
Alberta Investment Management Co. (AIMCo), based in Edmonton, Alberta, said it has entered an agreement to acquire the beef processor, along with the 475,000-hectare Yeeda cattle station and Kimberly Meat Co.’s other property assets in Broome and Derby used to house employees.
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Collectively described as the Yeeda Aggregation, AIMCo did not disclose the price it is paying for the assets.
Kimberly Meat Co. went into voluntary administration in February, with Sydney-based accountancy Korda Mentha appointed to oversee the process, according to a notice from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
The Canadian investor, which manages more than C$160.6bn ($118.2bn) on behalf of pension funds, insurers and local governments, said Kimberly Meat Co. was the “only export-accredited facility located in northern Western Australia”.
AIMCo said it also bought KMC’s breeding assets last year, namely the Yougawalla Pastoral Co. and Argyle Cattle Co. in Western Australia.
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By GlobalData“Integration with AIMCo’s existing Yougawalla operations will increase the robustness and flexibility of the supply chain and enable the team to increase capacity and create value for our clients,” the investor said in a statement.
Ben Hawkins, its executive managing director, added Kimberly Meat Co. “gives us the opportunity to create a vertically integrated beef production and processing business”.
Kimberly Meat Co.’s creditors have approved the transaction but it still needs to go before Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board for sign-off.
According to Australia media reports, Kimberly Meat Co. founder Mervyn Key had sold his 45% stake in the business and its affiliates last year to Hong Kong-based investment partner Asia Debt Management Capital.
The Australian unit of ADM Capital then held 80%, with the rest in the hands of an unnamed family investment firm with offices in the US and Argentina, the online publication BeefCentral reported.
Australia Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) said its own investigation last year revealed Yeeda Pastoral Company, including the Yeeda Station and KMC, owed more than A$5m ($3.3m) to individuals and businesses across northern Australia.
Beef Central also said Yeeda had been the subject of an investigation by the Western Australia government last year connected with the deaths of more than 400 beef cattle in 2022 and the illegal dumping of abattoir waste.
