Sale of WA's Yeeda Pastoral Company near Broome completed, NT abattoir tipped to reopen in 2026
The future of meat processing in northern Australia is set to change following the $55 million sale of Yeeda Pastoral Company. (Supplied: Yeeda Pastoral Company)
In short:
The $55 million sale of Yeeda Pastoral Company and its subsidiaries, including the Kimberley Meat Company near Broome in WA, is now complete.
Meanwhile, Darwin's dormant Livingstone Beef abattoir could change hands within weeks.
What's next?
Northern producers may have two large-scale meat processing options as soon as next year.
Two large-scale meatworks are set to reopen in northern Australia, with the sale of the Kimberley Meat Company now complete and a deal for Darwin's dormant abattoir edging closer.
Embattled cattle enterprise Yeeda Pastoral Company and its subsidiaries, including the Kimberley Meat Company (KMC), have been sold to TLP4 Australian Holdings, a subsidiary of Canadian government-owned investment fund Alberta Investment Management Corporation.
TLP4 entered into a Deed of Company Arrangement to acquire the business in August last year, following Yeeda's entry into voluntary administration.
Yeeda had the only abattoir in northern Western Australia until it closed in February 2024. (ABC: Andrew Seabourne)
Located about 100 kilometres east of Broome, the Kimberley Meat Company was once the only abattoir in northern Western Australia.
It opened in 2016 to process local cattle but was mothballed in 2021 amid record-high cattle prices and tight supply before finally closing in February 2024.
By the time it shut its doors, Yeeda Pastoral Company — which controls Yeeda Station and Mount Jowlaenga Station as well as KMC — was more than $100 million in debt and facing allegations of serious animal welfare and environmental noncompliance.
Yeeda's administrators, KordaMentha, confirmed on Monday that the $55 million sale to TLP4 Australian Holdings was completed on Friday.
Northern meat producers may have new options to process cattle after commercial deals. (ABC News)
Northern Territory abattoir close to sale
The development comes as a large-scale Northern Territory abattoir, Livingstone Beef, which ceased processing in 2018, is expected to be sold within weeks.
David Williams, chairman of investment bank Kidder Williams, which is overseeing the Livingstone sale, said the outlook for northern meat processing had looked "fairly dire" until now.
"I imagine that [Kimberley Meat Company] will be fully operational sometime in the second half of calendar year 2026," he said.
"I think Livingstone itself … will be sold in the next few weeks and therefore also open in calendar year 2026.
"That will give north-end cattle producers, whether they're up in the Kimberley or closer to Darwin, two clear alternatives for having their meat processed."
Canadian investment company AIMCo has completed the takeover of Yeeda Pastoral Company, which controls Yeeda and Mt Jowlaenga stations and the Kimberley Meat Company, east of Broome. (Supplied: Elders)
Without the major local abattoirs, many northern producers have had to truck animals thousands of kilometres south to Gingin, Perth or even Victoria for processing — a costly exercise that also raised animal welfare concerns.
Mr Williams said having operational plants in the north would become even more important if the federal government decides to phase out live cattle exports.
"Even if the government is hell-bent on stopping that live trade, and I hope they are not, but if they are, they have a moral responsibility to encourage processing in the north of Australia," he said.