HONG KONG, Sept. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Friday, September 9th 2016 marked the official opening of the Colourstone Processing Facility near Broome, Western Australia. The meat processing operation was financed by ADM Capital's flagship ADM Galleus Fund II Limited and is the only state of the art beef processing facility in the region (capable of processing 37 head per hour -- up to 70,000 head per annum on one shift).
Hong Kong based private credit manager, ADM Capital, is a key financier to Western Australia's Yeeda Pastoral Company generally and particularly for the construction of the Colourstone Processing Facility, which is the final part of the "paddock to plate" strategy for distributing grass-fed, Australian rangeland beef, both home and abroad. Yeeda is a fully integrated beef production, processing and distribution business in Western Australia's far north Kimberley region, with 80,000 head of cattle and 1.1m hectares of land and capacity to increase its herd to 100,000.
ADM Capital, which has over 18 years' investment experience in Asia with USD1.2bn of investments under management, said the deal is characteristic of a new breed of agribusinesses that believe in efficiency and sustainability in production as the world deals with an increasing scarcity of land, water and inputs.
"Population increases, urbanisation and disposable income growth are driving a structural change in protein demand, consumption and food chains, with companies like Yeeda likely to offer strong returns," said Rob Appleby, joint CIO and co-founder of ADM Capital. "The construction of the processing facility will reduce logistics costs and improve production efficiency, given that the nearest processing facility is over 1,800km away." ADM Capital said the deal could be one among several agribusinesses in the food chain that the Investment Manager is contemplating to finance in Australia.
Chris Botsford, founding partner and joint CIO of ADM Capital, highlighted the increasing demand for good quality beef in emerging markets. "Yeeda's processing facility will produce halal certified beef that is in demand in various markets of the Middle East and South East Asia," said Mr. Botsford. "As the largest integrated beef producer in Western Australia, the Company is in a favourable position to capitalise on the opportunity."
ADM Capital is a patient investor that is ready to put more capital to work in Yeeda if needed, and ultimately expects to be repaid via a combination of strong cash flows and bank refinancing.
Mervyn Key, Director of Corporate Affairs, and Jack Burton, CEO have been delighted with relationship established with ADM Capital. Mr Key noted that "ADM Capital have played a critical role in enabling Yeeda to achieve its potential when other more traditional sources of capital in Australia did not understand the opportunity. Further, with their flexibility, extensive relationships and experience they have contributed much more than just financing and have become an extremely valuable business partner".
ABOUT ADM Capital:
ADM Capital is a global investment manager with approximately USD1.2bn in assets under management. Founded in 1998 in the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis, the firm has over 18 years of emerging market investment experience, resulting in a deep local knowledge and strong proprietary sourcing network. ADM Capital has six offices in Hong Kong, Istanbul, London, Almaty, Moscow and Kiev.
ADM Capital seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciation by focusing on fund growth opportunities in companies that have limited alternative sources of capital. ADM Capital also works to rehabilitate operationally strong but financially stressed companies via restructuring, rescheduling, refinancing, liquidity management and other strategies. The firm is currently engaged in a capital raising exercise for the USD200m "ADM Somei Lending Platform," which will invest in collateralised credit opportunities across emerging and frontier Asia, for which the IFC is a cornerstone investor. For more information, visit www.admcapital.com.
MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
ADM Capital in Hong Kong:
Scott Emmerson
Phone: +852 2536 4567
E-mail: scott.emmerson@admcap.com
