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$413m Canterbury land sale cleared, Denmark's DLF Seeds to bring new seed screening tech to New Zealand
Jun. 6, 2019
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Denmark
Canterbury farmland has been sold to Danish interests. Photo/supplied
A $413.3m deal to sell New Zealand assets to a co-operative of about 3000 Danish seed growers has got state consent.
The Overseas Investment Office has released its decisions for April and in that is clearance for Denmark's DLF Seeds to buy assets including Canterbury rural land from 50 per cent-Singaporean-owned PGG Wrightson.
The deal would see the introduction of "genomic screening technology into New Zealand".
"This will allow grasses to be screened on the basis of their genetic potential and means that grasses that are likely to have desirable traits can be selected before field trials are carried out. This may save years carrying out field trials on grasses that are unlikely to perform well," the office said.
The Danish seeds and plant breeding company owned by the cooperative has a small presence in New Zealand through its subsidiary DLF Seeds, the clearance said.
PGW Seeds is the seeds business of local agricultural company PGG Wrightson and its PGW Seeds is involved in developing, growing and distributing proprietary and non-proprietary grass, forage seeds and other seeds, it said.
Scholarships for Kiwi farmers to work on Danish farms, around $12.5m in extra exports, investments in special harvesters to measure quality and yield and the establishment of a new seeds multiplication business in New Zealand were benefits cited.
The land is on Bennets Rd and Springs Rd.
Global food and beverage business Danone Asia Pacific Holdings [44 per cent American and 20 per cent French] can buy 49 per cent of Yashili New Zealand Dairy Co which has a Pokeno operation. Danone already has about 30 per cent of Yashili, the OIO said. The amount of money involved was suppressed.
ETA Australia Holdings, a special-purpose vehicle majority controlled by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, got consent for a $131m deal to buy the shares of MYOB Group, 32 per cent Australian.
"The investment involves the applicant's acquisition of the shares in MYOB Group, a company that provides business management software for accounting practices in Australia and New Zealand," the OIO said.
An Australian, Veronika Leeb-Goess-Saurau, got consent to buy 1727ha in Masterton, including sensitive land, from New Zealand's Lone Star Farms for $13.4m.
"The applicant will subdivide and sell Riverbend Homestead, Hadleigh Homestead, Hadleigh Cottage, and other flat lands, and remove Mt Clyde Homestead from the land, within three years of OIO consent," the consent said.
The rest of the land, or 1280ha, will be planted in forestry, due to be harvested from 2045 to 2047.
Dutch-owned Horizon Flowers can buy 162ha of Southland farmland from New Zealand's Far South Farms near a tulip bulb processing plant for $7,839,000.
"Soil in which tulip bulbs are planted requires a regeneration period of at least six years after harvest," the application said.
"The land being acquired is currently used as a dairy farming operation and the applicant will plant 27ha plots of the 162ha on a six-year rotational basis. The remainder of the land will be leased back to the vendor to continue to operate as a dairy farm."
An iconic Arthur's Pass station got consent for another deal with a neighbouring and equally famous place: American-owned Flock Hill Holdings can buy 135ha of adjacent land from two New Zealanders for $400,000.
"Flock Hill Holdings seeks to acquire a leasehold interest in approximately 135ha of adjacent land through a boundary adjustment. Flock Hill Holdings has an existing leasehold interest in approximately 14,000ha of land on Flock Hill Station. The adjacent land that it seeks to acquire is part of Craigieburn Station, another high country station," the decision said.
CDL Land New Zealand, 53 per cent Singaporean-owned, got consent to buy 8.4ha on Arataki Rd, Havelock North for a secret sum from Kiwis Carolyn Wallis, Christine and James Hawley and Martin Speeden. CDL plans to develop about 120 sections, then sell them.
Fletcher Distribution, 45 per cent Australian-owned, can lease 1.6ha of sensitive land at 481 Pakuranga Rd, Auckland from New Zealand's Yun Hwa Investments in a deal whereby all financial amounts were suppressed
Fletcher Distribution already leases land but proposed renewal and variation of its lease. Because the site is beside a reserve, it is classed sensitive so OIO clearance was needed.
Source: nzherald.co.nz
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