The novel crowdfunding-styled bid offering "mum and dad" investors a chance to buy the big S.Kidman and Company beef business has attracted more than 3100 potential investors pledging about $54 million in the past month.
The initiative has triggered a groundswell of popular support since Melbourne-based property investment management minnow DomaCom launched its plan to offer the Kidman family a locally-grown alternative to selling the famous company to Chinese buyers.
The architects behind the bold, last-minute bid admit their late move is "a long shot", given Kidman family shareholders first began selling the 117-year-old enterprise last April.
Two big Chinese-led syndicates are now believed to be front-runners in final stages of the sale process, which includes awaiting federal government and Foreign Investment Review Board approval.
But the potential sale of yet another big and iconic agricultural operation to overseas buyers has stirred up a wave of public discussion centred on the need to get local retail investors and superannuation funds to invest in Australian agricultural assets rather than selling them offshore.
DomaCom's sales and marketing general manager Warren Gibson confirmed up to $54m had been offered to the crowdfunding campaign by "ordinary Australians" offering sums ranging from the minimum $2500, to a Queensland beef producer syndicate considering contributing up to $10m.
He said even if the Kidman plan failed to get off the ground, other agricultural property assets would be in the company's investment sights, if crowdfund investors still wanted to put their money into similar farm industry projects.
"If it's not the Kidman business it could be any sizeable holding or several mainstream farming operations leased back to farmers," he said.
"There are up to 50 Victorian dairy farms currently considered quite likely to be sold to foreign buyers, but why not have them in Australian ownership?
"We have no doubts about the fact that we've come into this Kidman race late in the day, but if we can get some industry superannuation funds on board - and there's a good level of interest from industry funds - we'll be giving investors a serious alternative to putting their cash into fixed interest deposits or investing it in funds putting it into overseas projects."
Mr Gibson said the Kidman sale had become something of a wake-up call to Australia's huge $2 trillion superannuation market from many pension fund members, self-managed super fund investors and the wider public, all of whom wanted to see the industry diversify into more Australian infrastructure, particularly agriculture.
There was a growing appetite for rural assets among ordinary investors and having outsiders put money into the farm sector enabled farmers to direct more of their own funds into building productivity without being burdened by bank debt repayment commitments.
Kidman's 10.14m hectare pastoral operation spans 10 property aggregations in Queensland, South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia.
About 24pc of its holding, based on Anna Creek Station's 23,700 square kilometres area adjoining the Woomera missile testing area in South Australia, is now being offered separately to Australian-based investors after federal Treasurer Scott Morrison blocked the sale of the full Kidman estate in November.
DomaCom's unconventional alternative bid, which emerged in early December, was initiated by Melbourne-based financial planner Steve Burgin, who expected those contributing to the crowdfund would eventually become shareholders in a public listing of Kidman's property assets on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
The 185,000-head Kidman livestock business was likely to be expanded with more lotfeeding capacity and even meat processing and run by an existing major cattle industry player.
He said the deal he was promoting had potential to pay Kidman shareholders much more than the $400m anticipated for a direct sale brokered with the company during the past year.
In fact, based on returns of five to seven per cent from the leaseback deal, plus up to 5pc long-term capital gain he believed an ASX listing of Kidman's properties could double the current market capitalisation value of S.Kidman and Company.
