Roc Partners trumps Macquarie again with higher bid for Vitalharvest
Costa Group citrus farms in South Australia’s Riverland region comprise three of the seven orchards owned by Vitalharvest.

Roc Partners trumps Macquarie again with higher bid for Vitalharvest

Roc Partners has moved quickly to seize back control in its enthralling takeover battle with Macquarie for the Vitalharvest Freehold Trust, with a 4¢ per unit higher offer for the Costa berry and citrus landlord.

A day after Macquarie Infrastructure & Real Assets (MIRA) lifted its own offer to $1.12 to match an earlier bid from the Sydney private equity firm, Roc Partners trumped the giant asset manager again with an offer to pay $1.16 for all the units in the trust – or $214.6 million in total. Alternatively, it would acquire all the assets of the trust for $329.6 million, up from $322.2 million.

On Thursday, the Trust Company, Vitalharvest’s responsible entity (VTH RE) said the new $1.16 “modified binding” offer from Roc Partners was a “superior proposal” to Tuesday revised $1.12 bid from MIRA’s agricultural funds management arm (MAFM).

“Subject to MAFM’s matching right process, VTH RE has elected to accept by entry into a scheme implementation deed with Roc,” said the Trust Company board.

MAFM now has until April 14 to provide a matching or superior offer to the Roc proposal under its “matching rights” which give it five business days to respond.

“If MAFM decides not to exercise its matching right, VTH RE intends to enter into the Roc scheme implementation deed and terminate the scheme implementation deed with MAFM,” said The Trust Company board.

It’s the third time Roc Partners has outbid MIRA since its late entry into the race for Vitalharvest on February 26 in a battle which has highlighted the strong appeal of agricultural assets to institutional investors.

MIRA had all but sealed the takeover at just $1 per unit in November, when it entered into a binding agreement and won the support of both the trust’s responsible entity and its biggest shareholder and manager Primewest.

A month later MIRA strengthened its position further by agreeing new 20-year fixed leasing deals with Costa Group.

Unitholders were all set to vote on MIRA’s original proposal before Roc Partners threw its hat into the ring, offering to pay $1.08 per unit or $314.8 million for all the assets.

This kicked off a bidding war between MIRA and Roc. It has also sent the Vitalharvest share price surging to new highs, hitting $1.14 a week ago as hedge funds joined the register in anticipation of making a quick profit.

“VTH RE will update the market as soon as possible, including in relation to the timetable and the unitholder meeting scheduled for 16 April 2021,” said The Trust Company.

A spokesman for MIRA declined to comment.

Get a weekly roundup of the latest news from Commercial Real Estate, delivered straight to your inbox!

By signing up, you agree to Domain’s Privacy Policy and Conditions of Use. You may opt out at any time.