Lempriere teams with Shandong Ruyi in bid to buy Cubbie Station

The Lempriere family, one of Australia’s oldest wool processors, has teamed with the Chinese group Shandong Ruyi in an endeavour to buy Australia’s biggest cotton irrigator, Cubbie Station.

Now in its fifth generation, the company led by William Lempriere has been the world’s largest wool merchant since 2009.

Over the 155 years since commencement it has sourced more than 1.8 billion kilograms of the finest sheep wool – some 12 million bales – from Australia, Argentina, South Africa and New Zealand as the supplier for the likes of Burberry, Austin Reed, Zegna, Cerruti and St. John Knits.

The Australian Financial Review says the consortium has been keen to make the acquistion for more than a year.

Cubbie, near Dirranbandi in Queensland’s southern inland, covers about 93,000 hectares, with water entitlements that may be the target of federal government buybacks.

With debts of $320 million owed to National Australia Bank and Suncorp, the station was placed into voluntary administration in 2009 with McGrath Nicol.

The bid has prompted concerns from political figures, including Liberal senator Bill Heffernan.

“The first thing I want to know about this is whether the consortium is a sovereign investor, whether it has sovereign guarantees, or whether there are sovereign linkages,” Heffernan said.