The Australian – Global Food Forum 2023 – Panel Discussion
Panel Discussion: Investment expectations in an era of rising rates How funds are factoring for future returns
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Chinese attention is returning to Australian Agriculture investment, says David Williams
Chinese investors are taking an increasingly active look at Australian agricultural investments now that the Foreign Investment Review Board’s door has partly reopened to proposals from China, according to David Williams, director of advisory firm Kidder Williams.
Mr Williams told The Australian’s Global Food Forum this week that Chinese investors were back looking at assets in Australia, including agricultural investments, given a perceived change in stance from the Foreign Investment Review Board.
He said FIRB’s decision in January to allow one of China’s biggest textile manufacturers, Jinsheng Textiles, to buy Gundaline station, an irrigated cotton farm in the NSW Riverina, was seen as a sign of the political willingness to reopen the door to Chinese investors for some assets.
“One of the bright spots (on the agricultural investment scene) is that the Chinese are back,” he told the forum. “They’re back because the Foreign Investment Review Board’s got the door slightly ajar, and we are going to see a fair bit more of that (like the Jinsheng cotton farm) in the next six months.
“There’s bit of it going on now.”
FIRB’s review process has opened up since the Covid pandemic, when all major foreign deals had to be referred to the review board.
Chinese investors were wary of investing in Australia under the Morrison government, due to political tensions.
An approach by China Mengniu Dairy to buy Lion’s dairy and drinks business in a $600m deal was blocked in August 2020 by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who said it was “contrary to the national interest”, despite reported approval by FIRB.
In January 2021, Frydenberg blocked a proposed $300m deal for the China State Construction Engineering Company to buy building contractor Probuild from its South African owners.
The improvement of political relations between Australia and China under the Albanese government has seen Chinese investors reconsidering Australia as a place to invest. Chinese officials have raised the treatment of investment proposals with Australian government officials in negotiations over repairing some trade relations. The Chinese government has removed some unofficial restrictions on Australian exports to China, including coal and timber.
The agricultural sector is also closely watching negotiations over tariffs imposed on Australian barley and wine which are currently under way.
There are hopes the tariffs could be lifted before Prime Minister Albanese’s expected visit to China in October this year.
Mr Williams said FIRB had come under criticism in the recent past because of the “lengthy” time taken to approve deals and the high costs involved.
But he said things had changed more recently.
He did not think Chinese investors would get approval to buy critical infrastructure such as ports, airports or power stations.
But he said that there were still restrictions on Chinese companies and individuals getting their money out of China, with much new interest coming through Hong Kong channels.
There is also keen interest in Australian agricultural investors from other foreign investors such as Canadian pension funds and US university endowment funds.
Minter Ellison executive director of international markets Paris Zhang told the forum that Chinese investors were “continually looking” at investments in the agricultural sector in Australia.
“Chinese consumers really like Australian food products for its premium quality, for being clean and green and environmentally friendly,” she said. “Therefore investors are continuously looking at opportunities in Australia in farming including cattle and dairy farms, cotton farms, and farms growing fruit and nuts as well as processors of dairy and cheese.”
She said they were looking for well established or premium brands.
Kidder Williams aims to turn Pure Foods into the next Tassal
Pure Foods Tasmania says it has aspirations to become as successful as Tassal, the last major locally listed aquaculture company until its sale to Canadian firm Cooke for $1.1 billion last year, as it eyes fresh acquisitions in a bid to grow tenfold.
The company’s chief executive, Michael Cooper, said the group aims to reach $100 million in annual revenue, a step-up from the $10 million it is now generating.
“We’re not going to get there through organic growth,” Mr Cooper said, adding Tasmanian Pure Foods was closely assessing a buyout.
“We’ve got one on the radar now, we’re doing due diligence,” he said.
Mr Cooper said the company may seek to jump from its purely Tasmanian roots to the mainland in future acquisitions.
“If we exhaust all Tasmanian opportunities we definitely would,” he said.
Sales have been climbing sharply after the group’s tubs of Daly Potatoes & Gravy were stocked in Coles supermarkets in Victoria and Tasmania in March, and in Woolworths in Queensland and Tasmania in April.
“It’s blown our doors off with our volumes,” he said.“Considering the economy at the moment, it’s perfect timing”.
The company has appointed investment bank Kidder Williams to guide its expansion plans. Kidder Williams managing director David Williams said bigger scale was important for Pure Foods Tasmania, which aims to be on the front foot in consolidation.
“Down here, there’s plenty of room for scale,” he said. The company was in the sweet spot in its categories with its gourmet range and strong links to the local supply chain.
“One of the megatrends that people overlook is provenance,” Mr Williams added.
Mr Williams led a syndicate two decades ago which acquired the Tassal salmon business when the company went into receivership owing money to ANZ. It was subsequently floated on the ASX. In 2022, he was an adviser to Cooke in its purchase of Tassal.
Pure Foods Tasmania’s share price has been struggling, falling 2 per cent, or 0.3c on Monday to close at 13c. Shares have fallen 56 per cent in 12 months.
A former Tassal executive, Phil Excell, has been hired as the company’s new chief financial officer.
Mr Cooper said there may be some rationalisation of the businesses in the Pure Foods Tasmania portfolio as the growth plans are stepped up.
“You can’t be all things to everyone,” he said.
Exports constitute about 20 per cent of the total sales, with Hong Kong an important market for its vegan ice-cream made with a cashew base, that is gluten and dairy-free.
The company also operates the Woodbridge Smokehouse salmon business, Tasmanian Pate and Lauds plant-based foods.
Mr Cooper said inflation in input costs appeared to have passed its high point.
“I think we are definitely passed the peak,” he said.
But transport costs were still high and a shortage of truck drivers was adding to the headaches in logistics caused by the collapse of the Scott’s Refrigerated Logistics business.
Mr Cooper said the Pure Foods Tasmania ranges covered the premium end, the middle ground and the value end and would be able to withstand a tightening of spending by consumers.
He said a new product under the Daly Potato Co. brand of vegetables in a meal tray was being rolled out in IGA supermarkets and had been well received by shoppers looking for value, in its early days on the market.
Property, but not as you know it with David Williams
On the latest episode of Talk Ya Book, Chris Judd welcomes back David Williams from Kidder Williams. David talks us through real estate agent rating platform ASX:RMY and why it could be one to watch as it expands internationally.
Proudly presented by Honan (www.honan.com.au).
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PolyNovo set to re-enter ASX 200 after record year; Macquarie reveals its predictions on other big index movements
Skin graft-focused biotech PolyNovo is poised to re-enter the ASX 200 in March, with Macquarie analysts expecting $67m worth of shares to change hands as it reclaims its spot in the benchmark index.
The company, chaired by boutique investment banker David Williams, was removed from the index of Australia’s 200 biggest listed companies last year after its shares sunk as low as 85c in May.
At the time, short-sellers had targeted 11.5 per cent of PolyNovo’s stock, and following its exit from the ASX 200 lost the support of index-based funds.
But in the past six months the company’s shares have rebounded more than 45 per cent to $2.39, giving it a market value of $1.64bn. It has capped off record half-year sales, delivering revenue exceeding $5m a month for the first time, as it builds momentum in the US and expands into new markets, with short-sellers now targeting 2.5 per cent of its stock.
Macquarie analysts named PolyNovo as one of the “standout” stocks set to re-enter the ASX 200 this year. It is predicting five changes to the benchmark index, with Syrah Resources, Omni Bridgeway, NRW Holdings and Ioneer also on track for addition.
Meanwhile, Macquarie expects SmartGroup, Novonix, Ramelius Resources and Domain Holdings to lose their spots as a result of the ASX 200’s rebalancing.
Macquarie estimates there will be about $67m, or 26.4 million shares, of incremental demand from index funds due to PolyNovo’s re-entry to the ASX 200 — the equivalent of about 10 days of daily trading.
From last May, Mr Williams has been on a spending spree, buying almost $7m worth of PolyNovo shares, saying he “had enough” of the short-sellers and the “dampening effect” of index funds leaving the company following its exit from the ASX 200.
“The company’s recent growth in US sales but also sales in Canada, HK, UK, and Australia has been a very impressive 67 per cent increase half on half,” he said.
“Surgeons worldwide are heralding the technology as not only life saving but changing the way surgery is done.”
PolyNovo has developed a synthetic skin for burns and soft-tissue regeneration, which in recent years has been used to treat Australian bushfire and New Zealand volcano victims.
It received US Food and Drug Administration clearance for its NovoSorb MTX product last September.
MTX leverages the technology platform underpinning the clinical success of the company’s other product, BTM, but without a sealing membrane.
With MTX, the wound can be closed either with a skin graft or allowed to heal by contraction and formation of an epithelial layer, simplifying wound management. It is indicated for use in partial and full thickness wounds, pressure ulcers, venous ulcers, chronic and vascular ulcers, diabetic ulcers, and surgical and trauma wounds. Crucially, the MTX product expands PolyNovo’s addressable market in the US by an estimated $500m.
The company’s revenue surged 62.2 per cent to $29.5m in the six months to December 31, based on unaudited accounts. In three of those months during the half-year, it generated sales of more than $5m. This compared with delivering $2m a month in sales in early 2020 before Covid-19 hit Australia.
Elsewhere, Macquarie is only expecting one change to the ASX 50 — with job search company Seek making way for mining giant IGO. Meanwhile, it says Stanmore Resources, Terracom and Silex Systems will be three “automatic” additions to the ASX 300, given the index has 297 stocks currently listed.
“As usual, there is a long list of potential deletions but we only see another seven stocks that are ranking high enough to be added,” Macquarie said of the ASX 300, with other additions including Tietto Minerals, Renascor Resources, Mount Gibson Iron, Bowen Coking Coal, Weebit Nano, Adriatic Metals and Ridley Corp.
It expects Aurelia Metals, Australian Strategic Materials, Pact Group, Betmakers Technology Group, City Chic Collective, Southern Cross Media Group and Bravura Solutions to be deleted from the ASX 300.
Regulators considering sturgeon importation in order to start a premium caviar industry
Dressed in a crimson blazer, David Williams reclines into a burgundy leather seat at Collingwood’s Smith Street Bistrot where chef Victor Blain serves him the restaurant’s caviar service.
Like the best champagne, the dish is synonymous with luxury and extravagance. But not so much today, says Mr Williams – one of Australia’s prominent agribusiness bankers – as he spreads a dollop on to a Merimbula oyster.
“(Last year) was all about entrees of yellowtail kingfish but 2023 is all about bringing caviar to a wider audience,” he says.
“The $300 jars with all the condiments have always been off limits to all but the very wealthy. Now it’s everywhere in bite-size and affordable dollops.” A few days later, he discovered that Qantas was serving caviar on a flight to New York. There were even bars serving it on potato chips. “Caviar,” Mr Williams says, “is the new black”.
But as tastes change and restaurants like Smith Street Bistrot and Mimi’s in Sydney – which has turned caviar into a pie with scallop mousseline – transform the dish, there is a problem.
While Australia positioned itself well to capitalise on the kingfish boom, albeit partially by accident when some attempts to farm bluefin tuna failed, every ounce of caviar is imported.
What’s more, beluga sturgeon, which produces the most valuable roe and is primarily found in the Caspian Sea, is endangered from decades of overfishing, habitat loss and the illegal trade of caviar.
But in Adelaide, a public servant has found a solution.
Mehdi Doroudi, chief executive of South Australia’s Department of Primary Industries, has been working with the commonwealth for the past decade to allow the importation of sturgeon and a final decision is expected soon.
The federal government is in the final stages of completing biosecurity risk assessments and consultation. Once approved, Professor Doroudi could issue licences under strict conditions, that would create Australia’s first homegrown caviar industry.
“It was a huge effort,” says Professor Doroudi, who worked in the Caspian Sea region and caviar industry in Iran before he emigrated to Australia 27 years ago.
“There are other countries where the sturgeon is not endemic but they import them and grow them in a biosecurity way. And I thought, why not here?”
While Tasmania gets most of the attention in relation to Australian aquaculture, SA has become the nation’s commercial fishery capital, fattening tuna in pens and farming kingfish, barramundi, rainbow trout, oysters and now potentially beluga sturgeon.
The caviar market presents a major opportunity. It is worth about $US276m ($409m) and that is expected to soar to $US1.88bn in the next five years with an annual growth rate of 9 per cent, according to Market Data Forecast.
But competition is increasing. More than half of the world’s commercial caviar farms are in China, where companies including Kaluga Queen sold their first tin 2006.
The cost of production is also high. Sturgeon farms cost millions of dollars to establish, given the fish needs cool, deeper water.
Professor Doroudi says that unlike carp, sturgeon would not survive in the Murray River or even Australia’s coastal waters.
Crucially, it takes more than a decade for a fish to reach maturity and harvest the first batches.
Mr Williams says: “The single biggest issue I see is that sturgeon is like almonds and walnuts, they can take up to 12 years to mature.
“I am not sure capital markets are that patient. However, they have done it in tree nuts, so maybe here also. The Germans and others have learned how to do it, so why not us,” Mr Williams says.
Australia’s reputation as a clean and green food producer also gives it an advantage, with interest in the nation’s aquaculture assets increasing, following the Tassal’s $1.7bn takeover from Canadian seafood giant Cooke, and Brazilian conglomerate JBS’s $425m acquisition of Huon.
Australian aquaculture is also expanding into new species, farming prawns in recent years and even the nation’s biggest fish, Murray cod, offering a more efficient way to help meet surging global demand for protein as well as higher culinary standards.
“There is lots to like about an Australian-grown caviar for the export market,” says Mr Williams, who bought Tassal for $42.5m after it fell into administration 20 years ago before floating it on the ASX, and then advised Cooke on its acquisition of the company.
“Sturgeon is under threat in certain parts of the northern hemisphere so new ideas to farm it are worth a look.”
Several big names, with equally big pockets, are understood to be interested in applying for licences to import and farm sturgeon in Australia, although Professor Doroudi declined to name those who have approached his office.
“It needs to stack up for investors,” he says, adding that one type of caviar – Almas from the Caspian Sea – sells for $12,000 to $14,000 a kilogram.
“It’s crazy when you think about it, but you need to be patient for 10 to 12 years before you can get caviar from the fish.” But Professor Doroudi says that doesn’t mean that investors cannot generate a return in the meantime.
He says an ideal model is to farm sturgeon, which can grow up to 7m long, for its meat which he says is unlike other fish.
“It’s not similar to anything that we are familiar with here. It’s not salmon, it’s not a snapper, it’s not a King George whiting but it’s nice eating, it’s good eating,” he says. “For many years, many countries have grown, in aquaculture, a sturgeon for the meat. If you look at China, they are producing thousands of tonnes of Siberian sturgeon (meat).”
This compares with global caviar production of about 380 tonnes, according to the European Union’s latest estimates.
“But even if you produce 100kg of that, if you could sell it for around $10,000 (a kilogram), it would be a significant amount in terms of return,” Professor Doroudi says. “I’ll leave that to the business people to run it the way they want to. But if they come to me for my aquaculture expertise and ask how we should do it … I’d say put part of your production into meat production and get cashflow, and maintain the good ones and quality ones through genetic selection.”
Investors could also gain a greater return from adopting roe harvesting practices that do not involve killing the fish. “That way the fish can continue to reproduce,” Professor Doroudi says.
“A lot could be done. It’s really an amazing area to be involved and needs a lot of passion from people who are coming in.
“If someone is after a quick cash return and says ‘I’ll put my money here, I want to see something tomorrow’, it would be wrong to step into this area.”
The idea of using surgical roe extraction techniques rather than killing a fish appeals to Mr Williams but he has a different view to Professor Doroudi about growing sturgeon for meat.
“I look at it as fish farmed for caviar only and harvested annually without having to sacrifice the fish. You can eat the fish, but the main prize is caviar,” he says, adding it was worth the wait.
“The difference between caviar, almonds and walnuts is that one is an aphrodisiac … clue: try the caviar pie at Mimi’s or the Caviar oysters at 300 Smith Street Bistrot,” Mr Williams says.
Mobile Tyre Shop revs up for pre-IPO round
Mobile Tyre Shop, founded by Challenger’s former head of leasing, is parading its wares to potential investors for a $20 million pre-IPO round that is expected to be shopped as far as Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed tyre manufacturing giants.
Its pitch to investors, seen by Street Talk, was that revenue had grown 36.2 per cent year-on-year while costs were coming down. Now, it needs money to expand its fleet and ramp up marketing.
Mobile Tyre Shop has 42 vans that drive to customers in 3300 suburbs to change or balance tyres. It’s operating in capital cities and has its foot in the door in regional areas and secondary tier cities via relationships with car rental companies like Hertz.
Its third channel of sales is working with other online tyre retailers (Bridgestone, Tyroola, Tyresales) as their onsite fitting partner.
All of that boiled down to $11.9 million trading revenue for the 2022 financial year, and the company expects to triple it to $35.7 million in two years.
It’s still posting losses on an EBITDA basis – $4 million-plus for 2022 – but reckoned the business was more efficient and reducing costs, notwithstanding the loss of corporate business during COVID-19.
Investors were told Mobile Tyre Shop’s capital cities footprint was bringing new potential customers in the door, while online marketing meant ecommerce sales had grown and made up 58 per cent of the total sales in the June half. The raise would allow it to expand its fleet size to 52 this financial year.
The pitch deck also dangled the opportunity for the business to branch out from tyres and deeper into the automotive afterparts market – think, car batteries and windscreens – which was a $5 billion market.
The business was founded by Travis Osborne, who has Challenger Financial Services’ head of leasing. He had also worked at The Gandel Group, Spotlight Property Group and Westfield.
Melbourne corporate adviser David Williams is Mobile Tyre Shop’s chair and largest shareholder. His firm Kidder Williams is running the raising, which was expected to target about a $50 million pre-money valuation.
It would be interesting to see who ends up on its shareholder register.
There’s no doubt Mobile Tyre Shop’s growing, but any potential investor would want to know how far it is from posting profits.
Nevertheless, it’s the kind of business that could be tried on for strategic fit by automotive clubs like NRMA and RACV, or local automotive afterparts giant Bapcor. It also wouldn’t be surprising to see it shopped to overseas auto parts manufacturers like the NASDAQ-listed Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co, Tokyo-listed Bridgestone and Toyo Tires, Frankfurt-listed Continental, Seoul-listed Hankook Tire, Milan-listed Pirelli or Shangahai-listed Shandong Linglong.
Germany’s Continental, in particular, knows the lay of the land, having paid $350 million to buy Wesfarmers’ Kmart Tyre and Auto Services in 2018.
Mobile Tyre Shop is kicking off the raising talks just as Tyre retailer Tyremax courts M&A interest from the likes of Bain Capital. Tyremax is a much bigger business with expected $50 million EBITDA and has been tipped to fetch around the $500 million mark when sell-side adviser Miles Advisory reboots the auction next year.
https://www.afr.com/street-talk/mobile-tyre-shop-revs-up-for-pre-ipo-round-20221208-p5c4p3
Smash repairer Western General hunts PE investor to take the wheel
Kidder Williams has pumped the accelerator on a sale process for private smash repair group Western General Bodyworks (WGBW), kicking off talks with private equity funds and other potential buyers.
The accident repairer, based in Victoria, has 11 workshops, more than 170 staff and services north of 10,000 cars a year, according to a flyer shown to potential investors.
WGBW was established in 1981 with one workshop in Maribyrnong and now has locations across Melbourne, Geelong (where it is the biggest collision repairer), Newcastle and Gold Coast, repairing cars for insurers including IAG Group, Allianz, Suncorp and Youi.
The group’s owned by businessman Danny Buzadzic, who has 30 years in the vehicle repair industry, and a bunch of acquisitions in the pipeline to try to grow the business and its footprint.
It also recently launched businesses including M Tech Suspension and Motor Glass Windscreen, which provide aftermarket repairs and were said to be on track for positive earnings in FY23. [The businesses were started in the past two financial years].
With all the expansion plans, Buzadzic has hired Kidder Williams to go shopping for a new owner that could help fund it all.
The five-page pitched, sent to potential acquirers this week and seen by Street Talk, looks like a direct call to cashed up PE funds looking for places to deploy their dry powder.
PE funds have sniffed around Australia’s smash repairs sector in the past – Blackstone even had a deal to acquire AMA Group’s panel repairs arm which fell over – with thoughts about consolidating what’s still a fragmented market.
WGBW’s small compared to AMA’s business, and looks like one for the growth funds. It turned over jobs worth $33.9 million last financial year at a double-digit EBITDA margin, the flyer said.
Revenue is heavily skewed towards workshop repairs (91 per cent), and about 60 per cent of its work is insurance jobs.
The flyer said WGBW’s owners were considering their strategic options including a full sale of the business. They hired Kidder Williams to run Project Optimus and test buyer appetite.
The advisers have started drumming up interest, keen to point out that WGBW got through the pandemic better than plenty of its rivals, winning industry awards as the best multi-site operator.
It comes as the biggest buyer (and player) in the sector, AMA Group, implements new pricing deals with insurers and engages in “network optimisation” to try to turn around its fortunes, after expanding rapidly in the past decade. Its biggest move was acquiring Suncorp’s Capital Smart repair business for $420 million in 2019.
Barramundi and Kingfish on the menu for Tassal as it looks to branch out under Cooke
Tasmania’s Tassal, the last ASX-listed salmon producer, is looking to expand into new species – including barramundi and kingfish – as it enters new ownership under Canadian seafood giant Cooke Aquaculture.
Cooke settled its $1.7bn takeover of Tassal on Monday – and the company will be pulled off the exchange – with chief executive Glenn Cooke in Australia to meet staff and outline his new operation’s next phase of growth.
This includes exporting Tassal’s products to new markets, including Europe where Cooke has recently acquired a prawn distributor.
“Tasmania sells and I think there is positioning for some of that. I also hope to bring some of our other products through Tassal into the Australian market – shrimp, crab, those types of products,” Mr Cooke said.
The close of the sale marks a transition of Tasmania’s $1bn salmon industry into complete foreign ownership and comes as supermarket chains are looking for more fresh fish meat, particularly white-flesh species, to offer year-round seafood.
Mr Cooke said he would work with Tassal and its chief executive Mark Ryan – who has led the company since 2003 – to expand Tassal’s product offering.
Cooke has turnover of $2.7bn, with, salmon farms in Canada, US, Chile and Scotland, and 10,000 employees. It is understood to be looking to increase its geographic diversification further to help reduce the risks such as adverse weather and disease.
Mr Ryan said Tassal was exploring expanding into barramundi – four years after it branched out into prawns after it acquired Fortune Group for $31.9m. “(Tassal) doesn’t necessarily have to be salmon and prawns. There’s potential opportunities in barramundi or kingfish,” Mr Ryan said.
“We’re a global operation now. So I think for us, it’s not just saying ‘it has to be here or there’. It really is about which is the best spot to actually do that and give you the best payback and from a risk point, what was going to be the place that minimises the risk.”
Tasmania has also banned further leases of its waterways for salmon farming, pushing producers out into the ocean, about 20km offshore, in rougher, federal waters – or looking to waterways in other states or breeding different species.
Tassal 40-year-old fish breeding program has delivered a food conversion ratio close to 1:1. In other words, it takes about 1kg of feed to produce 1kg of fish, about eight times less than what’s required to produce the same amount of beef.
Mr Ryan said he was confident it could do the same for other species.
“Prawns or shrimp, globally they work at sort of 2.2-3kg. Already, we’ve taken that down to 1.5kg within three years,” the Tassal chief executive said.
“I’ve talked about barramundi, which is so similar to salmon it’s not funny in terms of infrastructure and practices, and there’s no reason we couldn’t employ that into growing barramundi.
“We’ve got a really good base where we use the technology and particularly the AI where it‘s not just about overfeeding, it’s about underfeeding fish as well. If we can optimise that, that just puts us in a really good spot.”
The company has branched out into seaweed and it hopes to grow the asparagopsis variety, which is used to feed livestock to lower their methane emissions.
Cooke’s acquisition of the company attracted criticism from activist organisations, including the Bob Brown Foundation, which expressed concern that the shift to offshore ownership reduced reporting requirements, while claiming multinationals could buy influence and bully regulators.
Mr Cooke dismissed that criticism as “fake news” and a “bald-faced lie” from “well organised groups”. He said science was on Cooke’s side and Tassal had a credible management team.
“We feed a lot of people very healthy protein and we’re going to continue growing our business to more healthy programs. As far as these environmentalists, or so-called environmentalists, you know, we better continue to fight that message with the truth,” Mr Cooke said.
“To basically throw non-truths and fake stories around, bald faced lies, that’s not nice and just discredits them. It just shows what kind of people are out there trying to protest when they have to lie.
“You‘ve got to remember these well organised groups, they have the next platform to get people to scream and yell because they need to raise money to pay for their salaries. So it’s a very circular thing.”
David Williams, the investment banker who advised Cooke on the deal through his Kidder Williams advisory firm, told The Australian: “Farming animals and fish has been subject to continuous improvement, in animal husbandry and feed and growing methods.”
Mr Williams was also a previous owner of Tassal, acquiring it for $42.5m after it had fallen into administration in 2003 before floating it on the ASX a year later.
“Modern fish farming is a relatively new business and there are many learnings every year to improve practices. Continuous improvement is important because aquaculture will continue to be a low-cost way of feeding the world,” Mr Williams said.
“Cookes are one of the best operators in the world and will accelerate industry improvement here with their technologies and experience.”