Leading Australian fruit and vegetable producer Coast Group is set to kick off its roadshow of Asia and Australia next week ahead of a potential listing on the Australian Securities Exchange.
The group announced in January this year thatit would pursue either a stock market float or private equity investment, with some estimates placing the company’s worth at as much as A$1bn.
Costa's advisors Goldman Sachs and UBS are due to meet with potential investors across Asia, New Zealand and Australia next week, according to the Australian Financial Review.
Growing mushrooms, tomatoes, berries and bananas, Costa Group's unique selling point is its focus on covered cropping, with more than 75 per cent of the groups earnings come from protected crops, making it an appealing investment for foreign companies, particularly in Asia, IBIS World analyst Brooke Tonkin told ABC Rural.
'Any Australian agriculture business that's looking to sell is attracting interest from foreign investors, so [Costa] are actually getting quite a bit of interest from all parties, which is why it's not become clear whether or not Costa are actually going to go with a private equity buyer, or whether they will proceed with their public offering,” Tonkin said.
The Costa Group is owned by the Costa family and US private equity firm Paine & Partners, supplying leading retailers Coles and Woolworths as well as exporting its produce to Europe, North America and Asia.
