Olam in A$200m sale and leaseback deal of its almond orchards

IN its second sale and leaseback transaction, Olam International is selling nearly 12,000 hectares of almond orchards in Victoria, Australia for A$200 million (S$232 million) in cash, and reaping a post-tax capital gain of about A$45 million in the process.

It will lease back the orchard land and trees, and related farming and irrigation infrastructure, for 18 years, which could be renewed by mutual consent.

The transaction is with Adveq Almond Trust, an Australian trust structure owned by a group of investors led by Zurich-based Adveq Real Assets Harvested Resources (Adveq), an asset manager that invests in private-equity and real asset funds.