Agribusiness

Australia’s agriculture sector is a dynamic and highly regulated industry attracting significant multinational investment and government involvement. Businesses operating in this space face a wide range of legal considerations, including property and leasing, supply and distribution arrangements, environmental compliance, land access agreements with mining companies, sale and purchase agreements, water rights, carbon rights and FIRB approvals. Navigating these complexities requires tailored legal advice grounded in industry knowledge.

HWLE has a long-standing, nationally integrated agriculture practice. Our team is deeply engaged with sector-specific developments and regulatory reform, allowing us to deliver commercially focused advice across all stages of agribusiness operations.  We provide a full service offering to our clients in their agribusiness transactions and portfolio management.

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Agribusiness

Our experience

  • Ridley Corporation Acting on the acquisition of the Incitec Pivot Fertiliser distribution business from Dyno Nobel for $375 million.
  • Petuna Aquaculture Advising the founders of Petuna Aquaculture, one of Tasmania’s largest seafood businesses, on its sale to Sealord Group.
  • BioMar Advising Denmark-based aquafeed supplier BioMar on its acquisition of AQ1 Systems, a maker of acoustic feeding technology for the prawn-farming industry.
  • Australian Vintage Acting for the ASX listed wine and drinks company on its $19.9 million capital raising by way of a placement and accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer.
  • Barambah Organics Advising the founders of the Barambah Organics business on a significant investment by the private equity arm of asset management firm Tanarra Capital.
  • Cultura Australia Advising on the $200 million acquisition of freehold greenfield and brownfield plantation properties for pine plantation establishment in WA. This included FIRB, due diligence, contracts, access requirements, planning approvals, settlements and project management, and development agreements with its appointed forestry manager.
  • Macadamias Australia Advising the founders of the largest family owned vertically integrated macadamia business in the world, in the sale of its farming and processing plant operations to PSP Stahmann Webster.
  • S. Kidman & Co. Advising on the $386 million sale via off-market takeover, involving Australia’s largest cattle property spanning 24,000 square kilometres and 10 stations.
  • Lawson Grains Ongoing portfolio management after the acquisition from Macquarie Asset Management, including negotiating a large wind farm project on one of the farming assets including negotiating with a State government entity and advising on land access agreements with mining and petroleum companies.
  • the Federal Government Acting for the Federal Government in the acquisition of a large Crown Lease agricultural holding for the Department of Defence.