THE patriarch of Australia's biggest farming family is a man willing to put his money where his mouth is.
According to The Australian Financial Review, John Nicoletti is prepared to spend $3 million of his own money to build silos to starve CBH Group of its largest customer if next week's historic board elections fail to deliver seats to growers seeking to corporatise Australia's largest grains handler and potentially pave the way for a stockmarket listing.
It has been called the crossroads election as the CBH board grapples with adapting to increasing competition following deregulation and defend its position as Western Australia's major storage, handling and grain exporter.
A sharemarket listing would give CBH greater access to capital and a commercial edge many growers argue is lacking under its antiquated co-operative structure, especially as deep-pocketed foreign rivals grow their presence in the deregulated grain markets.
"It should be corporatised and listed on the stock exchange as soon as possible," Nicoletti said. "If it doesn't it is going to crumble. Not to do it is just bullshit."
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