New bid for the Kidman estate, Australia's largest cattle farm
Date：2016/11/10
24 October 2016
[BBC.] A new all-Australian bid for the Kidman estate, the country's largest cattle farm, has topped an offer led by the country's richest woman Gina Rinehart together with Chinese investors.
Previous Chinese-led bids for the estate were blocked by the government, which cited national security concerns.
The Rinehart offer had hoped to appease those government concerns.
The new counter-bid has four of the country's wealthiest cattle families offering A$386m (£240m; $293m).
Kidman had already accepted the joint $A365 million offer by Ms Rinehart and Chinese developer Shanghai CRED Real Estate.
However, the company's board is required to consider any higher offers.
The Rinehart bid also is still pending approval from the country's foreign investment board.
The new offer was filed late on Sunday from the BBHO consortium, comprising the Brinkworth, Buntine, Harris and Oldfield families, and would not require such approval.
The sale of the Kidman estate, which comprises farms the size of South Korea, has highlighted the concerns over the sale of Australian assets to Chinese investors.