MinterEllison Advises Vitalharvest on $185 million ASX Listing
July, 2018 - Australia
MinterEllison has advised Vitalharvest on the A$185 million IPO of the Vitalharvest Freehold Trust on the ASX.
The Vitalharvest Freehold Trust (ASX:VTH) owns one of Australia's largest aggregations of citrus and berry farms, which are split over approximately 3,700 hectares and 130 property titles located across New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia.
Vitalharvest's properties have been independently valued at $238.4 million by CBRE and are leased to wholly owned subsidiaries of the ASX-listed Costa Group (ASX:CGC). Costa Group is Australia's leading grower, packer and marketer of premium quality fruit and vegetables.
"The Vitalharvest listing involved a large inter-office team with lawyers from our Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Hong Kong, London and New Zealand offices involved," said Bart Oude-Vrielink, MinterEllison's lead Partner. "This IPO is unique in many ways. It represents the first standalone agricultural REIT of major citrus and berries properties across a number of Australian states which is listed on the ASX."
"Vitalharvest is well positioned to service a demand for increased food productivity and quality Australian produce, and we look forward to supporting them on their journey."
The MinterEllison team, which drew upon industry and local expertise from the Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Hong Kong, London and New Zealand offices, was led by Bart Oude-Vrielink (Partner) with corporate support from David Schiavello (Partner), Geraldine Williams (Special Counsel), Steven Wang (Senior Associate), Michael Watts (Senior Associate), Elissa Young (Lawyer), Isobel Conroy-Ryan (Lawyer), Anna Stephenson (Lawyer), Philippa Symon (Lawyer), Stefan Vujacic (Graduate), Chris Grant (Graduate) and Kristy Turner (Graduate). Additional support was provided by Geoff Earl (Partner) on finance, John Riley (Partner) and James Hamblin (Special Counsel) on stamp duty and Andrew Wright (Special Counsel) on property matters.
