Big Potato-growing Business Acquired by Pension Fund
Australia’s largest potato-growing business and the operator of 26 farms in South Australia and NSW – Mitolo Family Farms – has sold Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (a big Canadian superannuation fund) a controlling share in the company.
Ontario Teachers’ senior managing director of Natural Resources, Christopher Metrakos, said the fund was keen to help Mitolo Family Farms grow its ambitions and increase the quality and reliability that made Mitolo a category leader.
“Ontario Teachers’ and AustOn have a proven track record in investing in the farming sector both in Australia and worldwide, and we are focused on using this experience to deliver long-term, sustainable growth with Mitolo Family Farms,” Metrakos mentioned, cited by Food&Drink Business.
On the other hand, Mitolo Family Farms’ managing director, Frank Mitolo, declared that the business would keep operating under the same brand.
“The next steps in our growth trajectory will require additional capital to enter into new markets and pursue strategies that will help us profitably respond to emerging trends in agriculture and food manufacturing,” Mitolo mentioned, cited by AFR.
Best renowned for its potatoes, Mitolo Family Farms is a supplier to the Coles and Woolworths retail chains. It also serves as Aldi’s supplier. With the Carisma brand, the business has had success marketing a potato with fewer carbohydrates.
Over the past few years, Mitolo Family Farms has experienced significant growth. In 2016, when the company’s lenders, notably the Commonwealth Bank, brought in Deloitte’s bankruptcy team, it purchased the assets of Oakville Produce, which was at the time Woolworths’ top potato supplier.
Through that transaction, the Mitolo Group received new operations from Mitolo Family Farms in South Africa as well as packaging companies in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney. In 2020, the company bought the SA-based fresh potato division of Thomas Foods International. 80% of the nation’s potatoes are grown in this state.
With annual sales of around USD280m, Mitolo Family Farms is a vertically integrated farmer, harvester, packer, and marketer of potatoes, among others. The family’s home base is on the Adelaide Plains, north of Adelaide, where they have been cultivating potatoes for more than 50 years.
The Ontario Teachers’ Fund has investments in 50 countries on behalf of 336,000 members. Ontario Teachers has had a presence in Australia since 2018, through its AustOn agricultural arm.
