CHINESE-owned Australian-based red meat processor and exporter Kilcoy Global Foods has filed for a public listing in the United States, in a move designed to raise capital for strategic investments and acquisitions, expanded production and greater automation.

Kilcoy yesterday filed for an Initial Public Offering on the New York NASDAQ exchange, for a starting date yet to be advised. An IPO describes a privately-held company offers shares to the public for the first time, allowing it to raise capital and become publicly traded. Essentially, it’s the process of a company ‘going public’ or ‘floating.’

If successful, the move would be the second recent offshore-owned meat processing business with a footprint in Australia to list in the US, following JBS’s successful launch on the NY SE on Friday.

Onlookers suggest the current state of strong profitability in the Australian beef processing industry – together with the bullish international outlook for Australian beef trade over the next few years – is material to Kilcoy’s move to list in the US. It is also a likely factor in the JBS joint listing in Brazil and New York launched on Friday, and the timing of Cargill’s buyout of the Teys family’s 50pc stage in the Teys Australia joint venture announced last week.

As part of the IPO listing documentation, KGF disclosed a 74 percent jump in annual profit last year, with total revenue up 17pc to US$2.2 billion (A$3.3b). It posted a net income of US$60.4 million (A$93m) during the period, compared with US$34.7m (A$53m) a year earlier.

During the latest quarter, 27.8pc of the company’s revenue came from the US, 21.5pc from Australia, 17.8pc from China and the rest from other countries such as South Korea and Japan.

Kilcoy’s key Australian assets include:

• The Kilcoy export abattoir north of Brisbane – the nation’s largest dedicated grainfed processor with capacity of 2200 per day. The company has made a series of major investments in the plant over the past decade, improving production volume, efficiency, traceability, cold storage capacity and environmental footprint. The company claimed to be the first processor in Australia to achieve carbon neutral certification
• The Hardwicks beef and lamb processing plant at Kyneton, Victoria, bought in 2021
• The Tabro Meat processing facility at Lance Creek in Victoria’s Gippsland, bought and renovated in 2023
• Pattie manufacturing plant Coominya Foods Pty Ltd bought from US-based Tyson Foods last year
• The value-added food facility Kilcoy Cuisine Solutions built near Caboolture in southern Queensland and opened in 2022
• The company also owns and operates Chicago (US) based Ruprecht portioning and distribution business, and a wholesale and distribution business in China.

The company traces its roots back to 1953 when local beef producers the Kennedy family and others established a cooperative owned slaughter floor to service local butchers under the name Kilcoy Pastoral Co. The company grew to become a significant beef export business, with a strong footprint in Japan and other markets. It was sold in 2013 to a fund affiliated with Chinese agriculture giant New Hope Group. Ownership later changed to Hosen Capital, a China-focused private equity firm, which also bought the US-based Ruprecht Co in 2015. Hosen purchased China’s Weihai Weidao Foods Co the same year.

Chairwoman of New Hope Group’s agribusiness subsidiary New Hope Liuhe Co, Liu Chang – daughter of New Hope Group chairman, billionaire Liu Yonghao – controls 45.4pc of Kilcoy’s shares prior to the offering, while Hosen Capital controls 39pc, the filing shows.

Kilcoy has developed a wide range of high-profile commercial grainfed beef brands, ranging from Ebony Black Angus to Cararra and Jade Wagyu, HGP-free  Kilcoy Pure, Kilcoy Diamond 100-day, and Few & Far value added items, like the pre-cooked marinated beef ribs pictured below.

Rumours about a possible overseas listing of Kilcoy have circulated for years, with interest shown in a Hong Kong SE listing as far back as 2019. The company first made moves to file for a US listing in January this year.

The KGF offering is being underwritten by Citigroup Inc and Morgan Stanley.

In its filing lodged with the US Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday, KGF describes itself as “A next-generation food solutions leader. Through our strategic operations in Australia, the United States and China, we provide tasty, fresh, natural, healthy and convenient food products to customers across more than 40 countries worldwide.”

“With a diverse, protein-centric product portfolio and a global network of production sites and supply sources, we have established strong market positions in Australia, the US, and key Asian markets including China, Japan and South Korea. This multi-protein, multi-supply, and multi-market strategy has made us the trusted partner of choice, driving sustained sales and margin growth. Our global customer base includes renowned food service brands and prominent retailers.”

Beef Central has asked Kilcoy Australia for a statement. It will be added here if anything arrives.