Clayton Utz is advising Minerva Foods and SALIC Australia on their acquisition of abattoir facilities in Shark Lake (near Esperance) and Tammin in Western Australia. The facilities will be acquired by a joint venture in which Minerva Foods will hold a 65% interest and SALIC Australia will hold a 35% interest. The joint venture is looking to invest approximately US$35 million in the facilities, which are expected to reach a slaughter capacity of 1 million head per year.
The acquisitions, which are subject to regulatory approval, mark Minerva Foods' entrance into the Australian market and follow on from SALIC Australia's acquisition of over 200,000 ha of broadacre cropping and livestock farmland during 2019 (on which Clayton Utz advised SALIC).
Corporate partner Mark Paganin and special counsel Scott Girdler are leading the firm's team, with involvement from the head of the firm's agribusiness team, Andrew Hay.
