Crafar farm bid requires OIO approval, court says
An attempt by the would-be buyers of the Crafar farms to be excused from requiring Overseas Investment Office approval for the purchase has failed.Today the High Court at Auckland dismissed the application by UBNZ Assets Holdings Limited and Natural Dairy
NBR staff
Fri, 11 Jun 2010
An attempt by the would-be buyers of the Crafar farms to be excused from requiring Overseas Investment Office approval for the purchase has failed.
Today the High Court at Auckland dismissed the application by UBNZ Assets Holdings Limited and Natural Dairy (NZ) Holdings Limited for a declaration that they do not require consent under the Overseas Investment Act 2005.
This follows sale and purchase agreements for 16 Crafar farms signed in late May, which are conditional on consent under the act.
UBNZ is contributing 80% of the farm bid with Hong Kong-listed Natural Dairy making up the other 20%.
The bid is led by May Wang, who NBR recently revealed owes about $22 million to a variety of creditors.
Annelies McClure, manager of the OIO, said the court’s reasons for dismissing the application for the declaration supports the OIO’s view that consent may be required by UBNZ Assets Holdings Limited to purchase the farms.
“The Overseas Investment Act clearly sets out the requirements for overseas persons and associates of overseas persons seeking to purchase sensitive New Zealand land,” said Ms McClure.
“The Court’s judgment further reinforces our interpretation of the provisions in the Act.”
NBR staff
Fri, 11 Jun 2010
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