April 2006 decisionsCameron sells down her ownership of Kathmandu to 49% Trustpower buys dairy farm to develop Arnold Valley Hydro Power Scheme Nobilo buys more land in Hawkes Bay, and three more blocks in Marlborough Cameron sells down her ownership of Kathmandu to 49%Milford Equities Limited, owned 49% by Janet Heather Cameron of Aotearoa, 25.5% by Quadrant Private Equity Pty Limited of Australia “as manager of Quadrant Private Equity No. 1A and Quadrant Private Equity No. 1B”, and 25.5% by JBWere (NZ) Private Equity Limited “as manager of Special Managed Investment Company No. 80 Limited”, has approval to acquire Kathmandu Group Limited for $275,000,000 from Janet Cameron.
The OIO states:
Milford Equities Limited (Milford) proposes to acquire 100 percent of Kathmandu Group Limited (Kathmandu), a holding company for a group of companies that conduct business under the outdoor clothing and equipment brand “Kathmandu” with stores located in Australia and New Zealand. The vendor has decided to sell 51 percent of Kathmandu, while retaining 49 percent, to enable greater support for the continued growth of Kathmandu.”
Kathmandu is one of the best known brands of outdoor clothing and equipment in Aotearoa, though it had increasingly been selling imported products. [Decision number 200610043.] Trustpower buys dairy farm to develop Arnold Valley Hydro Power SchemeTrustPower Limited, owned 35.18% by Infratil Limited of Aotearoa, 28.56% by Tauranga Energy Consumers Trust of Aotearoa, 23.77% by Alliant Energy Corporation of the U.S.A., and 12.49% by minority shareholders in Aotearoa, has approval to acquire 116 hectares at 33 Station Road, Rotumanu, West Coast for $1,237,500 from Dennis Barry Morgan and Linda Adele Morgan of Aotearoa.
According to the OIO,
The Applicant (TrustPower) proposes to acquire the subject land as part of the development of the Arnold Valley Hydro-electric Power Scheme (Arnold Valley Scheme), which will comprise a new intake dam, canal, flumes, head pond, regulation pond, and a power station, situated at the Arnold River on the West Coast of the South Island. TrustPower currently owns and operates an existing hydro-electric power station on the Arnold River, which will be decommissioned and demolished following construction of the Arnold Valley Scheme.
The subject property is being acquired to facilitate a “land-swap” transaction. TrustPower is proposing to acquire 94.36 hectares of land situated at which will be the subject of a separate application. The 94.36 hectares of land is integral to the Arnold Valley Scheme. The owners of the 94.36 hectare property have advised TrustPower that they wish to receive an equivalent property situated on the West Coast in return for any sale to TrustPower. It has been agreed that TrustPower will acquire the land and arrange for the land to be tenanted until such time as TrustPower will exercise an option (during a five year timeframe) to acquire the 94.36 hectares of land.
[Decision number 200610044.] Land for forestry· Middle Mount Forest Limited, owned in Switzerland by Heinrich Martin Henni, has approval to acquire 801 hectares at Mt Trotter Road and Stenhouse Road, Palmerston, Otago for $2,570,000 from Karin Holdings Limited which is owned by Jacobus Theodorus Cornelis Thoen of the Netherlands. The OIO states: “The Applicant proposes to acquire the subject property which has approximately 730.33 hectares planted in between 1996 and 2000 with pinus radiata forestry. The Applicant proposes to undertake a more intensive silviculture regime on the forest. The Applicant advises that the rationale behind the acquisition is to provide geographical diversification of the Applicant’s investment base as well as asset diversification.” [Decision number 200610041.] Nobilo buys more land in Hawkes Bay, and three more blocks in MarlboroughNobilo Wine Group Limited, owned by Constellation International Holdings Limited of the U.S.A., has approval to acquire the following blocks of land for viticulture:
· 120 hectares of leasehold at State Highway 50, Hastings, Hawkes Bay for $4,228,371 from Arthur Derek Glazebrook, William Alexander Glazebrook, and Howard Michael Glazebrook as trustees of the Michael Glazebrook Trust of Aotearoa. “The Applicant advises that the property has a total of approximately 106 plantable hectares which will be planted in Sauvignon Blanc vines.” [Decision number 200610038.] · 31 hectares at Blind River Loop Road, Seddon, Marlborough for $1,723,950 from Alanther Estate Limited owned by Alan Richard Townend and Heather Lorraine Hunt of Aotearoa. The property “is currently used by the vendor for pastoral purposes. The Applicant advises that the property has a total of approximately 25 plantable hectares which will be planted in Sauvignon Blanc vines.” [Decision number 200610045.] · 8.4 hectares at Caseys Road, Seddon, Marlborough for $466,875 from Henry Norman Roderique of Aotearoa. The property “is currently used by the vendor for pastoral purposes. The Applicant advises that the property has a total of approximately 7 plantable hectares which will be planted in Sauvignon Blanc vines.” [Decision number 200610046.] · 29 hectares at Caseys Road, Seddon, Marlborough for $1,626,075 from Keith Mervyn Dysart and Eve Dysart of Aotearoa. The property is “currently used by the vendor for pastoral purposes. The Applicant advises that the property has a total of approximately 23 plantable hectares which will be planted in Sauvignon Blanc vines.” [Decision number 200610047.]
In each case, the OIO states:
The Applicant carries out a fully integrated viticulture business, which includes the growing and development of grapes, and the manufacture, importation, distribution and sale of red and white wine within New Zealand and increasingly, for export markets. The Applicant advises that export growth has been constrained by grape supply. The Applicant proposes to secure additional grape supply and increased processing capacity. The Applicant currently has a variety of interests in New Zealand, including land utilised for the growing of grapes, and as wineries and production sites. In total it either owns or leases approximately 790 hectares of vineyards, in New Zealand predominantly in the Hawkes Bay, Marlborough and Auckland regions. The Applicant also sources grapes from contract growers from around 1,400 hectares in area… The proposed acquisition will provide the Applicant with an increase in grape supply which will allow it to continue to develop its export wine markets and enhance the reputation of New Zealand wine overseas. Land for wine· Bishop New Zealand LLC and Taheke Trust joint venture, owned 72.5% by James de Forest Bishop of the U.S.A. and 27.5% by Bruce William Jans and Hawkes Bay Nominees Limited as trustee of the Taheke Trust, has approval to acquire 24 hectares at State Highway 5, Eskdale, Napier, Hawkes Bay for $1,570,000 from Linden Estate Limited, owned in Canada by Brenda Lynne Cha. The OIO states: “The Applicant is an unincorporated joint venture formed for the purposes of acquiring the vineyard and winery business known as the Esk River Winery. The Applicant proposes to further develop the vineyard and winery to produce quality wine for the export market and redevelop the existing restaurant into a function centre. The proposed developments include the replanting or re-grafting the grape vines into quality and/or improved cultivars to produce the necessary style and quality for export.” [Decision number 200610040.] · Pear Tree Vineyard Limited, owned 45% by Matthew Alfred Farrah of Australia, 22.5% by Simon John Rees of Australia, 22.5% by Andrew Edward Ellis of Aotearoa, and 10% by Anthony Louis Moore of Aotearoa, has approval to acquire 21 hectares at Waihopai Valley Road, Marlborough for $1,020,937 from Alexander Philip Henderson and Robyn Maree Henderson of Aotearoa. The land adjoins land held for conservation purposes. According to the OIO, “The Applicant proposes to acquire the subject property which is currently used for sheep and cattle grazing. The Applicant proposes to develop 18.4 plantable hectares of the land as a vineyard to produce Sauvignon Blanc wine for the Australian market. The vineyard will be operated in conjunction with a vineyard currently being developed by the Applicant, and a company associated with the Applicant, Catalina Sounds Limited.” Pear Tree Vineyard gained approval to acquire its previous block of land (21 hectares for $1,125,000) in April 2005, and Catalina Sounds (36 hectares for $1,518,750) in August 2005. See our commentaries for those months for further details. [Decision number 200610042.] Other rural land sales· New Zealand Steel Limited, owned by BlueScope Steel Limited of Australia, has approval to acquire 11 hectares at 72 Mission Bush Road, Waiuku, South Auckland for $820,625 from CLP Holdings Limited, owned by Paul Lawrence Le Prou and Stephen Chau of Aotearoa. The OIO states: “The Applicant is wholly owned by BlueScope Steel Limited, an Australian Stock Exchange listed, flat steel solutions company with a manufacturing presence in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and North America. The Applicant is New Zealand’s sole producer of flat rolled steel products for the building, construction, manufacturing and agricultural industries and operates a fully integrated steel mill at Glenbrook situated south of Auckland. The steel mill is surrounded by 500 hectares of farmland acting as a greenbelt buffer zone around the steel mill. The acquisition of the subject land will provide an expansion of the greenbelt buffer zone around the steel mill. The proposal is likely to result in an increase in the area of greenbelt ‘buffer’ land situated around the steel mill site thereby continuing to minimise the environmental and aesthetic impact on the local community. This is likely to facilitate any future expansion of the steel mill without adversely affecting the local community.” [Decision number 200610037.] · Lynly Wai Yen Fong of Hong Kong has approval to acquire 0.34 hectares plus 37 hectares (a one-twentyseventh interest in 1,003 hectares) of land at Closeburn Station, Queenstown, Otago for $1,650,000 from Jefferson Osborn Steele of the U.S.A. According to the OIO, “The Applicant proposes to acquire a lifestyle lot comprising 0.3445 hectares and a 1/27 interest in 1,002.678 hectares situated on the rural residential subdivision development of Closeburn Station. The Closeburn Station development was established to provide capital to enable the farming operation of Closeburn Station to be preserved, developed and operated as an economic unit. The acquisition will provide the Applicant with a base in Central Otago from which to manage investments in New Zealand. he proposal is likely to result in a continuation of the benefits resulting from the overall development at Closeburn Station.” Steele gained approval to acquire the land in November 2001 for $668,000, buying it from the station owners, J. F. Investments Ltd, 70% owned by David Salman of Indonesia and 30% by D. Broomfield of Aotearoa, who sold numerous such blocks. See our commentary for that month for further details. The land adjoins a “scientific, scenic, historic, or nature reserve”, land held for conservation purposes, and land “that is an esplanade reserve, esplanade strip, recreation reserve, a road or a Maori reservation, that adjoins the sea or a lake”. [Decision number 200610039.]
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Compiled by: Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa, P. O. Box 2258 Christchurch. |
