New lead bidder for Crafar farms

Receivers have officially confirmed the bid by UBNZ Funds Management the 16 farms in the Crafar group has fallen over following the bankruptcy of its frontwoman May Wang.

KordaMentha's Brendon Gibson said he had sought to give UBNZ every opportunity but "following the decline of their Overseas Investment Office application the agreement is at an end".

Mr Gibson revealed the new lead bidder would face a similar OIO hurdle, with the previously unknown Pengxin International Group now leading the bidding.

"It's by far the best offer we have and it is now a matter of waiting for OIO approval," he said. "We understand that the lodging of their OIO application is expected to occur in March."

Pengxin Group is described by Capital IQ as a conglomerate engaging in "real estate development, urban infrastructure, urban infrastructure construction, and high-technology/industry/commerce investment businesses".

The group is the parent company of Shanghai Synica Corporation, a listed pharmaceuticals, agrochemical and industrial product manufacturer with a market capitalisation of $2.1 billion.

In a statement accompanying the KordaMentha announcement chairman Jiang Zhaobai said: "We believe we will bring substantial benefits to New Zealand, some of them, perhaps outside the dairy industry."

Pengxin's involvement in agriculture appears limited, with their release noting their interests in this area comprise of: a 650ha sheep breeding, wheat and soybean farm in Shanghai; a 930ha planned sheep breeding operation in Shandong Province and; the majority interest in 12,500ha of Bolivian corn farms.

Mr Jiang said: "We have great admiration for the New Zealand dairy industry and its potential and believe we can be strong ally for New Zealand dairy industry through our international trade connections and, in particular, our networks of influence within China and Asia."

Pengxin spokesman Cedric Allan conceded "they’re developing environmentally friendly fertilisers, and they've got some small sheep farms, but dairying is new to them.dairy is new to them".

"They’re a conglomerate. They’ve been involved in hotels, real estate, and mining in the Congo. Chinese companies have plenty of money and are frankly scouring the world looking for places to invest."