LAWD Corporate Advisory has been appointed to lead the sale of Mort & Co, one of Australia’s largest privately owned integrated beef businesses, in what is expected to be one of the most significant agribusiness transactions of 2026.
The mandate encompasses Mort & Co’s vertically integrated operations, including Australia’s largest feedlot, an award-winning branded beef division, productive farmland, and a strategic transport business, all located in the heart of Queensland’s Darling Downs region.
Offers close at 12pm (AEST) Thursday 28 May 2026, unless sold prior.
LAWD Senior Director, Corporate Advisory, Jaclyn Hope, said the transaction presents an unprecedented opportunity to invest in a market-leading, integrated agribusiness with a proven track record of strong financial performance.
“Mort & Co is not simply a feedlot sale. It is a fully corporatised, vertically integrated business with diversified revenue streams, established distribution channels and a deeply experienced management team ready to transition with the business,” Ms Hope said.
“The Company’s branded beef division alone contributes more than $150 million in annual sales across five premium Wagyu and Black Angus product lines, with customers spanning North America, Asia, the Middle East and Australia.
“This is a rare opportunity to acquire a turn-key operation that captures margin across the entire supply chain – from procurement and feeding through to branded product distribution.”
Australia’s largest feedlot anchors a blue-ribbon asset base
At the centre of the transaction is Grassdale Feedlot, a state-of-the-art facility with a fully developed capacity of 70,000 Standard Cattle Units (79,000 head), making it the largest feedlot in Australia. Developed as a greenfield site by Mort & Co from 2003, Grassdale remains the most recent large-scale greenfield feedlot built nationally, reflecting the significant barriers to new entrants to lot feeding and the unique value of the Company’s experience.
The facility runs at approximately 98 per cent occupancy and turns through more than 170,000 cattle annually. Operations are supported by 1,546 megalitres of high-security groundwater entitlements, an on-site grain mill, energy generation plant and Australia’s first integrated cottonseed de-hulling and de-oiling plant.
The assets footprint spans 5,675 hectares, including 2,576 hectares of prime dryland and irrigated farmland producing cotton, sorghum, corn, wheat, barley, mung beans and silage. A dedicated transport division comprising 45 prime movers and 155 trailers, along with an in-house service centre in Pittsworth, rounds out the offering.
Vertical integration drives competitive advantage
Mort & Co’s operations have evolved from a livestock agency into a highly integrated business with cattle lot-feeding at its core. The Company procures cattle from more than 2,000 vendors across the eastern seaboard, feeds them on customised programs at Grassdale, and sells finished product either directly to processors or under its own branded beef labels.
The integration extends to on-site energy generation, with a gas-fuelled power plant supplied by Arrow Energy, delivering low-cost electricity for core operations and surplus sales to the grid. The Company also operates a circular business model, repurposing feedlot by-products as fertiliser and recycling effluent for irrigation.
Mort & Co’s Wagyu premium Wagyu brands each won Class Champion and Golds at the 2026 Australian Wagyu Awards across the Purebred and Crossbred Wagyu categories, underscoring the quality credentials of the branded beef portfolio.
Strong capital demand for strategic assets
LAWD Consultant, Danny Thomas, said the strategic location and quality of the assets positions the transaction to attract strong interest from corporate and institutional investors.
“The Darling Downs is one of Australia’s premier agricultural regions, and Mort & Co’s footprint provides direct connectivity to key cattle and grain producing regions, major processing facilities, population centres and international ports,” Mr Thomas said.
“We have already seen significant appetite in the market following the recent sale of Mort & Co’s Pinegrove and Yarranbrook feedlot assets.
“The quality of the remaining portfolio, combined with the strength of the branded beef business and the experienced management team, make this a compelling proposition for investors seeking scale in Australian agribusiness.”
The Mort & Co Fertilisers business, an early-stage operation that value-adds feedlot by-products, will not form part of the transaction. Lease and offtake arrangements will be in place to ensure continuity for the incoming purchaser.
Offers for Mort & Co close 12pm (AEST) Thursday 28 May 2026, unless sold prior. For more information, please contact LAWD Senior Director, Corporate Advisory, Jaclyn Hope on +61 424 596 858, or LAWD Consultant, Danny Thomas on +61 439 349 977, or LAWD Senior Director, Tim McKinnon on +61 448 802 309.
