More than chicken feed – Aware Super sells to KKR

Seven years after its initial investment, industry fund Aware Super is exiting its investment in big agricultural infrastructure business, ProTen Pty Ltd, in a sale to private equity player, KKR.

The transaction represents a significant pay day for Aware Super members with the business having been valued at over $1 billion and with the fund (then State Super) having acquired the business for $150 million as one of its earliest direct Australian agricultural investments.

Established in 2001, ProTen develops, owns, and operates farm infrastructure for Australia’s poultry supply chain. The company manages poultry infrastructure including more than 700 poultry sheds across over 60 farms, located in key agricultural regions nationwide.

Aware Super portfolio manager, Infrastructure, Jiren Zhou said the fund was prud to have grown ProTen into the leading business it is today through active stewardship.

“Following seven years of significant investment, we are delighted to achieve this result on behalf of our members, to grow their retirements funds and deliver long-term sustainable returns,” he said.

“This is an excellent example of how Aware Super’s disciplined and long-term approach has strengthened the fund’s high quality, diversified infrastructure portfolio, which currently has more than A$20 billion invested globally.”

KKR Managing Director and Head of Australia & New Zealand Infrastructure, Andrew Jennings said the investment represented a unique opportunity to acquire a high-quality agricultural infrastructure asset, supported by availability-based long-term contracts, that plays an essential role in the food supply chain.

“KKR has been actively monitoring the agricultural infrastructure space as a high-conviction thematic,” Jennings said.

KKR is making this investment from its Asia Pacific Infrastructure Investors II Fund marking KKR’s latest infrastructure investment in the ANZ region.

KKR’s Asia Pacific infrastructure platform has grown to approximately US$13 billion in assets under management since it was established in 2019.