Cobram Estate closes $260m California Olive Ranch deal
Cobram Estate has completed its near-$260 million purchase of California Olive Ranch, sharply increasing its share of US olive oil production.
Cobram Estate Olives has completed its purchase of California Olive Ranch in a transaction worth almost 260 million dollars, a deal that sharply expands the Australian group's position in the United States olive oil market. ABC Rural reports that the binding agreement was signed on December 24, 2025, and that the takeover required antitrust clearance from the US Department of Justice before it could be finalized.
California Olive Ranch was described in the report as a business responsible for about 35 per cent of US extra-virgin olive oil production. Cobram said the deal has now been completed after the Justice Department approved it earlier in March, and the company added that it secured a favourable exchange rate that reduced the purchase cost by 7.1 million dollars.
The acquisition lifts Cobram's footprint in the United States from roughly 1,400 hectares of groves to almost 3,300 hectares. Co-founder and chair Rob McGavin said the company has been expanding in California for more than a decade and that, after buying one of its major competitors, it now expects to control about 70 per cent of California's olive oil production.
McGavin also used the moment to argue that California offers a more farmer-friendly water regime than Australia. He said only water users can own irrigation water in California, whereas Australian rules allow ownership by outside investors and speculators, which can push drought-time prices much higher. He said some Australian irrigation zones now have more than 35 per cent of water held by government for environmental purposes and called for a stronger grower-first approach.
A spokesperson for Australian water minister Murray Watt said there are no plans to change water ownership policy, noting that the separation of land and water titles has been in place for more than 30 years and was maintained in the 2004 National Water Initiative. The article also pointed to strong consumer demand for extra-virgin olive oil, with the Australian Olive Association saying Cobram's move was no surprise and that domestic production still covers only about half of Australian demand.