Origo Resource Partners’ portfolio company, Primary Holdings International Trust, has merged with R.M.
Origo Resource Partners’ portfolio company, Primary Holdings International Trust, has merged with R.M. Williams Agricultural Holdings, a new venture formed by Australian footwear and apparel company R.M. Williams.
R.M. Williams Agricultural Holdings’ strategy is to build a vertically integrated agricultural company focused on operating prime farmland and, through strategic partnerships, developing a diversified portfolio of businesses supplying a range of R.M. Williams’ branded organic meat and grain products to both local and international markets.
The venture will benefit from a combination of Primary Holdings’ management team and assets, improved access to capital, the brand equity of R.M. Williams and an understanding of Australia’s agricultural industry.
Chaired by Ken Cowley, owner and chairman of R.M. Williams, the board of R.M. Williams Agricultural Holdings will include two Origo nominees, initially David Pearse as managing director, and Chris Jemmett as a non-executive director.
Following the merger, Origo’s holding in Primary Holdings, which is equivalent to 39 per cent of Primary Holdings’ voting rights, will be exchanged for shares in R.M. Williams Agricultural equivalent to around 31 per cent of the voting rights in R.M. Williams Agricultural.
In addition, Origo will be granted warrants to purchase R.M. Williams Agricultural Holdings ordinary shares equivalent to a further 16 per cent of its voting rights.
Origo Sino-India, which provides consultancy services to the fund, will exchange its holding in Primary Holdings for ordinary shares in R.M. Williams Agricultural Holdings equivalent to approximately eight per cent of itss issued share capital.
In conjunction with the merger, R.M. Williams group companies and C-Quest Capital, a carbon asset management business, will together subscribe for approximately AUD9m worth of ordinary shares in R.M. Williams Agricultural Holdings, priced at AUD1 per share.
Chris Rynning, executive director of ORP, says: ‘We believe R.M. Williams Agricultural Holdings is uniquely positioned to emerge as the leading player in Australia’s agricultural industry and long-term supplier to Asian growth markets, in particular China.
‘The partnership with R.M. Williams, which has been concluded on terms beneficial to ORP shareholders, will create a much stronger entity, with deeper strategic and financial resources at its disposal.’
