PERTH: The SunRice Group’s CopRice subsidiary, which produces stockfeed and companion animal products, has signed a purchase agreement to acquire the dairy and beef business of Riverbank Stockfeeds, a Victorian-based producer of livestock products.

The acquisition includes Riverbank’s feed mill at Leongatha, and dairy business across Gippsland and south west Victoria. The acquisition provides an additional manufacturing facility for CopRice in Gippsland, complementing its existing facilities at Cobden in south west Victoria, Tongala in northern Victoria, and Leeton and Coleambally in southern NSW.

The acquisition is part of the SunRice Group’s 2022 Growth Strategy, which includes leveraging the Group’s strong balance sheet to pursue strategic value-accretive merger and acquisition opportunities, further diversifying earnings. The cost of the acquisition, as well as working capital requirements and capital expenditure to upgrade the Leongatha site, is not expected to exceed $10 million. Completion of the acquisition is expected over the coming months, pending satisfaction of a number of conditions precedent.