- Agricultural real estate investment trust Rural Funds Group (RFF) has exchanged conditional contracts for the sale of its Mooral almond orchard.
- The company exchanged contracts with a global agricultural and timberland investment manager for $98 million
- The investment manager is nominee for a special purpose vehicle, which will be owned by pension funds and institutional investors
- The orchard sale depends on completed due diligence and approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board approval
- Rural Funds Group closed 0.46 per cent in the green for $2.20 per share
Agricultural real estate investment trust Rural Funds Group (RFF) has exchanged conditional contracts for the sale of its Mooral almond orchard.
Located 25 kilometres south-west of Hillston in New South Wales, the Mooral orchard consists of 808 hectares of land planted for growing almonds. The agricultural property is supported by approximately 12,120 megalitres in groundwater entitlements, with a supplementary entitlement of 3,223 megalitres.
The company’s responsible entity and manager, Rural Funds Management, leases 593 of those hectares, along with RFM Almond Funds. The remaining 215 hectares are leased by ASX-listed almond grower, Select Harvests (ASX:SHV).
Rural Funds Group exchanged contracts for the property sale with a global agricultural and timberland investment manager. The aforementioned investment manager is the nominee for a special purpose vehicle, which will be owned by pension funds and institutional investors.
Rural Funds Group is likely to receive approximately $98 million for the sale of its orchard asset. However, this purchase price is still subject to various adjustments and inclusions.
The company has indicated that it may use these proceeds to acquire macadamia and cattle properties, located in Australia’s northern regions.
Rural Funds Group’s sale of the Mooral almond orchard can not go ahead until certain conditions are met. These including receiving approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board, and completing due diligence.
While due diligence should be completed within a 45-day period, this deadline is subject to possible extensions.
Rural Funds Group closed 0.46 per cent in the green for $2.20 per share.