Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart partners with Shanghai CRED for S. Kidman bid

CANBERRA - Australian mining magnate and the country's second richest person, Gina Rinehart is set to join Chinese firm Shanghai CRED in acquiring Australia's largest pastoral landholding, S. Kidman & Co.

Following the government's rejection of two previous Chinese bids for the cattle empire, a statement released on Rinehart's company's website late on Sunday said the Chinese firm would take a 33 percent stake while Rinehart's company Hancock Prospecting would control 67 percent of the landholding.

The bid, worth a reported $280 million, will result in the foundation of a joint venture company called Australian Outback Beef, in which the Kidman landholding with be placed, but the deal is still subject to review by Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board.

Following review, federal Treasurer Scott Morrison must also approve the bid; he has previously blocked foreign bids for the landholding but is reportedly more likely to approve a bid with a majority Australian ownership.

Meanwhile Rinehart, worth $6.5 billion, is also close with Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce which is expected to boost the prospects of the deal being approved.

A statement released by Hancock Prospecting overnight said Rinehart and Shanghai CRED would be proud to uphold the strong values S. Kidman & Co have shown for generations.

"Kidman is an iconic cattle business established more than half a century ago by Sir Sidney Kidman," the statement said.

"It is an operation founded on hard work and perseverance by an outstanding Australian and is an important part of Australia's pioneering and entrepreneurial history."

Earlier this year, Shanghai CRED along with Shanghai Pengxin submitted a bid which was rejected on national interest grounds.

Before this sale is final it will also require the state governments to change the pastoral lease holdings, while it also requires approval from China's National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance and Commerce, and State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

S. Kidman & Co. is a landholding which covers 101,000 square kilometers across four states: South Australia, Western Australian, Queensland and the Northern Territory.