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Huge cattle holding up for bids
SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- One of Australia's oldest companies has dismissed as "speculative" reports it will buy the huge cattle business of financial services group AMP. Australian Agricultural Company (AACo) said on Wednesday it had looked before at buying AMP Life's Stanbroke Pastoral Company, which is the world's single largest landholder and beef producer. AACo, which began as a land development company in 1824, said it would look again at Stanbroke, but any suggestion it would buy the company was "entirely speculative". AMP's investment arm, AMP Henderson Global Investors, announced on Tuesday it was putting Stanbroke up for sale by tender. It said there had been "significant expressions of interest" from several parties, and market conditions for a possible sale were favorable. Cattle prices have risen following good rain in February that eased drought conditions in parts of Australia. Experts estimate the sale of Stanbroke could raise up to Aust. $500 million ($300 million) for AMP Life. Stanbroke runs about 500,000 head of cattle on 27 properties covering 11.7 million hectares. AACo is Australia's third largest cattle group, with 400,000 head on 6.52 million hectares, behind Stanbroke and second-placed Kidman & Co, with 11.2 million hectares. AACo issued a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange on Wednesday after reports circulated that it was looking to buy Stanbroke. It said it had expressed an interest in the past in buying Stanbroke and would look at it again, depending on the terms of the tender and any review of the business it might undertake. "Any suggestion that AACo will acquire this business is entirely speculative," it said. Other contendersOther possible contenders for Stanbroke besides AACo and Kidman are Consolidated Pastoral Co, controlled by media tycoon Kerry Packer, and Heytesbury Beef, a private company controlled by the Perth-based Holmes a Court family. Heytesbury runs 200,000 head of cattle on 3.3 million hectares of land in northern Australia. Its managing director is Paul Holmes a Court, son of high-profile businesswoman Janet Holmes a Court. Paul's elder brother Peter Holmes a Court is chief executive of AACo, having sold his stake in the family's Heytesbury Holdings for an estimated Aust. $35 million in 2000. AMP Henderson said on Tuesday that if it could not get the price it wanted for Stanbroke, it would continue to manage it on behalf of AMP Life. "We will have no hesitation in continuing to manage this investment on behalf of our client. It has provided AMP Life with strong returns," AMP Henderson Private Capital director of operations Marcus Derwin said.
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