ONE of Tasmania's biggest dairy farms, Corrigan Dairies at Circular Head in the state's north-west, has been listed for sale with expectations of about $30 million.
The listing comes as ASX-listed OnCard International announced it had reached agreement to acquire New Zealand-owned Tassie milk producer, the 190-year-old The Van Diemen's Land Company for $250 million.
Corrigan Dairies comprises four neighbouring dairy farms - Shanes Farm, Lirra Lirra, Astells and Lacrum - with a combined 1100 hectares of land and about 3500 dairy cows.
The business is owned and operated by New Zealanders Norman and Nancy Corrigan, who moved to Tasmania 15 years ago and started out with just 120 cows.
It produces about 1.5 million kilograms of milk solids annually and last year generated $8.1 million in revenue.
Circular Head is one of Tasmania's premier agribusiness districts, home to 30 per cent of its dairy farms.
The investor memorandum describes Corrigan Dairies as a "highly productive operation" with dairies, fences and laneways in "excellent condition" and within a "highly reliable rainfall area".
Landmark Harcourts agent John Hewitt, who is marketing Corrigan Dairies alongside colleagues Michael Warren and Tony Maguire, said: "These farms are in one of Tasmania's premier dairy areas. It's [a] corporate size operation and should make over $30 million."
In a statement to the ASX late on Friday, Melbourne-based OnCard International said it would raise $244 million of the $250 million through the issues of new shares to acquire The Van Diemen's Land Company (VDL), the largest single supplier of milk in Australia and operator of 25 farms in north-west Tasmania.
VDL is owned by Taranaki Investment Management Limited, which belongs to New Zealand's New Plymouth District Council. OnCard, a provider of loyalty, reward and payment solutions predominantly in China, is chaired by Rob Woolley, who is also the chairman of Tasmanian organic baby formula company Bellamy's and cotton grower Tandou.
Dairy is Tasmania's major agricultural enterprise, with about 440 farms producing 9 per cent of the national milk output and at the lowest cost of any state.
"Land prices in Tasmania are significantly lower than New Zealand, which has made the state particularly attractive to international buyers," says the investor memorandum for Corrigan Dairies.
While the OnCard-VDL deal is a large boost for Tasmania's dairy sector, global dairy prices have tumbled recently after dairy heavyweights Russia and China flooded the market with milk.
