BioVittoria, ZyGem sold offshore, Brierley sells out of Coats, How bad is the dairy downturn?

In NBR Print today: Two of this country’s most promising biotechnology companies have been sold to offshore investors, leaving original shareholders, including government funds, out of pocket. Waikato-based natural-sweetener company BioVittoria and DNA detector ZyGem have both been restructured under financial duress, with Chinese investors buying the bulk of the former and two UK investors snapping up the latter company. The government’s New Zealand Venture Investment Fund (NZVIF) and the Accident Compensation Corporation were key stakeholders in BioVittoria and would have had a strong influence in a shareholder vote approving the transaction. Duncan Bridgeman investigates.

No one is talking recession but there is plenty of debate about how big the dairy downturn will be, as lower milk prices feed through into lower economic growth. Rob Hosking assesses the effects on the wider economy.

Auckland Council has imposed a transport levy on all ratepayers and businesses for the next three years that could be illegal. Auckland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Michael Barnett says the council failed to do the mandatory consultation and the levy is not a “targeted” rate.

The blooming elderly population will put pressure on the aged care sector, with shortfalls in accommodation expected as soon as three years’ time. Analysts and industry players agree a funding model overhaul is needed to cover the cost of building aged care beds. Calida Smylie reports

A dispute over the final payment in the near $50 million sale of synthetic turf manufacturer TigerTurf linked to the late Tony Timpson is headed back to court. Hamish McNicol reports.

Veteran investor Sir Ron Brierley is understood to have sold out of British company Coats Group [NZX: COA], formerly known as GPG, ending an association stretching back 25 years. The sale of Sir Ron’s Coats stake is yet to be confirmed, reports Tim Hunter, although its disclosure is a requirement under the Financial Markets Conduct Act.

Don’t miss this week’s NBR Special Report: I.T. – The Cloud

It can’t go out so Ports of Auckland is going up but not giving up ambitions to build further into the harbour in the future. Sally Lindsay reveals the company is spending $33 million over the next three years to buy 30 15-metre automated straddles as its gears up for increased container volumes.

As dairy prices head further south, New Zealand’s beef market continues to be a major cash cow on the commodities market as Chinese demand for red meat increases. Jason Walls reports.

Briscoe’s [NZX: BGR] Kathmandu [NZX: KMD] takeover is timed to catch investors at a weak moment, writes Tim Hunter.

No reason to scare the horses just yet but Shoeshine hopes the banking regulators inside the Reserve Bank have an eye on what’s happening across the ditch to Australian banks, particularly the parents of our “big four” banks.

A weaker yuan is a major change for companies selling into China from around the world, including New Zealand. They will be less competitive, with their goods and services becoming more expensive, Nevil Gibson writes in Margin Call.

With the prime minister 100% behind his foreign minister’s dodgy deal, the sheepgate scandal heads towards the Auditor General and Serious Fraud Office, writes Mathew Hooton.

All this and more in today’s National Business Review. Out now.