Australian government approves New Plymouth's Van Diemen's Land sale
The sale, worth A$280 million, is to Australian company Moon Lake Investments, set up by Chinese businessman Lu Xianfeng.
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The body which oversees the sale of Australian assets to foreign investors, the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board, has approved the sale of Van Diemen's Land Co in Tasmania by New Plymouth District Council's Perpetual Investment Fund.
The sale, worth A$280 million, is to Australian company Moon Lake Investments, set up by Chinese businessman Lu Xianfeng. The deal in November 2015 became embroiled in controversy because the fund pulled out of an agreement to sell the farms for A$250 million to an ASX-listed shell company, Oncard (now known as TasFoods). That row was eventually settled with New Plymouth paying A$1.25 million as a break fee in order to avoid a lengthy battle through Victoria's courts.
Van Diemen's Land has been owned by New Plymouth District Council since 2008, and was put up for sale because of the dramatic increase in its value. At the time it went up for sale it was valued at 65 percent of the fund, and managers wanted to diversify into other assets.
The chairman of Taranaki Investment Management Limited, Keith Sutton, who manages the fund on behalf of New Plymouth District Council, said they would "move promptly to complete and settle the sale of the businesses and assets to Moon Lake Investments". That's expected to take a few months.
The company currently milks 18,000 cows over 7,000 hectares on 25 dairy farms in northwest Tasmania and produces about 8 million kilograms of milk solids a year. It operates a dairy support unit and a 12,000 heifer herd on a further 5,000 hectares of pasture on its Woolnorth property. Moon Lake is expected to try to double milk production over the medium term.
(BusinessDesk)
Edwin Mitson
Tue, 23 Feb 2016
Tue, 23 Feb 2016
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Australian government approves New Plymouth's Van Diemen's Land sale
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