Deals

Ontario Teachers’ will buy almond farm from Macquarie

The property comprises 1067 hectares of mature almond groves that are owned by Macquarie Farm Assets and Resources Management.

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a branch of almond tree with fruits

Canada’s Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), together with an undisclosed US- based investor, will buy an own-and-operate almond farm in Australia for A$115 million ($85 million; €77 million), according to Australian Financial Review. Sources familiar with the matter told Agri Investor the deal was in due diligence.

Located in the Sunraysia district of north-west Victoria, the farm comprises 1067 hectares of mature almond groves and was owned by Macquarie Farm Assets and Resources Management (MacFarm).

Investors in five of Macquarie’s managed investment schemes own about 940 hectares of the orchards and approved the sale of the entire orchard last Friday. The farm comes with A$25 million-worth of water entitlements.

OTPP is would not be the first Canadian pension plan to buy into Australian farmland. In April, Canada’s Public Sector Pension (PSP) Investment Board made its first investment in the country’s cattle industry through a joint venture with Hewitt Cattle Company.

Canada’s largest single-profession pension plan, OTPP has about C$154.4 billion ($118 billion; €108 billion) in net assets, 80 percent of which is managed in-house, according to its website. The pension dedicates 23 percent of its portfolio to real assets and 8 percent to natural resources.