The group is owned by Rupert Murdoch's former right-hand man, Ken Cowley, who took control of the company in 2003 and has lofty ambitions to buy up large tracts of rural land around Australia, including La Belle station in the Northern Territory for more than $70 million, reports The Australian Financial Review.

It's clearly veering away from the traditional retail business, so it's hardly surprising that the rumour mill is suggesting Oroton Group might run the slide rule over the famous brand.

Part of the company's rural land push is clearly about carbon credit. The word is that Caltex Australia was looking to chip in about $400 million for RM Williams Agricultural Holdings in order to gain some of the carbon credits.

And it isn't the only one to have shown interest; carbon finance business C-Quest Capital has already chipped in an equity investment.