IN a business twist, Consolidated Pastoral Company is back in the hands of UK investor Guy Hands - with the shared ownership of the company's managers.
CPC is Australia's largest private cattle company, operating across 3.2 million hectares of land with a carrying capacity of 300,000 head of cattle.
CPC's Queensland operations include Wrotham Park, Allawah and Isis Downs. Stations in the Territory and WA include Newcastle Waters, Dungowan, Manbulloo, Kirkimbie, Bunda and Carlton Hill Station. CPC also has interests in two feedlots in Indonesia.
Mr Hands is the founder of private equity firm Terra Firma which bought CPC from the late Kerry Packer in 2009.
Last October Mr Hands announced he would take a private interest in CPC, in effect buying out his own firm.
Terra Firma has been selling pieces of CPC since 2018.
CPC sold Manbulloo Station just outside Katherine on the Victoria Highway in the middle of last year and immediately leased back the 380,000 hectare station to continue its enormous beef operations, chiefly as a supplier of cattle to Asian markets.
As a piece of a larger group, Manbulloo has also been important to take on stock from its Barkly properties hit by a long dry.
Manbulloo has almost 60km of frontage to the Katherine River as well as many kilometres of frontage to the King River.
The Manbulloo sale followed a similar sale and leaseback completed earlier for Carlton Hill Station near the WA/NT border.
There are some media reports suggesting the Manbulloo sale and leaseback was worth about $25 million.
A consortium of new owners, including Australian and foreign investors, is believed to have been involved in the sale.
Back in October, Mr Hands announced his intentions: "The Hands family will provide a cornerstone commitment and invest alongside CPC management.
"Other investors will be invited to participate in the buyout.
"The Hands family believes CPC provides a unique and compelling generational wealth creation opportunity through exposure to Australian agriculture.
"They are delighted to be partnering with the management team of CPC to invest in the business having worked together for many years."
When the sale intentions were announced, it was believed the company was valued at $500m-$600m.
