23 Dec 2011

Bidder given deadline on farm deal

1:52 pm on 23 December 2011

The receivers for Crafar Farms have given the preferred bidder a month to complete the deal.

KordaMentha appears to have put a line in the sand on what has been a long runing saga, saying Pengxin International of China has until the end of January to declare its offer for the 16 farms unconditional.

Brendon Gibson says that should give Pengxin plenty of time to organise its purchase of the farms.

Pengxin's offer still needs approval from the Overseas Investment Office.

Mr Gibson confirmed that KordaMentha has also received a new offer via an e-mail from Theresa Nicholas, a Taranaki farmer.

He said this offer could be considered if the Pengxin one is not approved by the Overseas Investment Office.

KordaMentha has turned down a number of domestic offers for the Crafar Farms, including one from a consortium led by Sir Michael Fay, saying all the bids have been too low.