Global investment firm KKR has agreed to acquire ProTen, one of the largest agricultural infrastructure businesses in Australia, from Aware Super. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Established in 2001, ProTen develops, owns, and operates farm infrastructure for Australia’s poultry supply chain, and plays an important role in supporting access to affordable, sustainable nutrition for Australian households. The company manages more than 700 poultry sheds across over 60 farms, located in key agricultural regions nationwide.

Aware Super, an Australian superannuation fund which manages A$190 billion on behalf of its 1.2 million members, has owned ProTen since 2018 and has overseen significant growth in the business. It expanded ProTen’s operational footprint across all states, along with a four-fold expansion of its property portfolio.

Andrew Jennings, managing director and head of Australia and New Zealand ( ANZ ) Infrastructure, KKR, comments: “Our investment in ProTen is a unique opportunity to acquire a high-quality agricultural infrastructure asset, supported by availability-based long-term contracts, that plays an essential role in the food supply chain. KKR has been actively monitoring the agricultural infrastructure space as a high-conviction thematic.

“As demand for sustainable protein and resilient food supply increases in Australia, we believe ProTen is well placed for continued growth. We look forward to leveraging KKR’s global network, operational expertise, and deep experience in scaling businesses to support ProTen.”

KKR is making this investment from its Asia-Pacific Infrastructure Investors II Fund. This marks KKR’s latest infrastructure investment in the ANZ region. Past investments include Zenith Energy, a leading independent remote power producer in Australia; Queensland Airports Limited in Australia, which consists of four airports in Queensland, including Gold Coast Airport; Spark Infrastructure, which owns high-quality, regulated electricity networks across Australia; and Ritchies Transport, a leading transportation operator in New Zealand.

KKR’s Asia-Pacific infrastructure platform has grown to approximately US$13 billion in assets under management since it was established in 2019.

The transaction is expected to close later this year, subject to customary regulatory approvals.