Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Deal reached on Crafar farm sale information

Updated at 12:05 pm on 26 January 2012

An agreement has been reached between lawyers acting for a Chinese conglomerate seeking to buy the Crafar farms and those acting for a rival bid headed by Sir Michael Fay which will prevent any settlement of the sale taking place before 3 February.

A preliminary hearing was to take place in the High Court in Wellington on Thursday but the parties reached agreement beforehand.

The group headed by Sir Michael Fay had been seeking paperwork relating to the Chinese group's bid for the farms.

Lawyers for both sides told Justice Miller an agreement had been reached and the Fay group had been given a copy of the Chinese application for consent to buy the farms.

Ministerial approval for the Shanghai Pengxin bid is expected this week and once that is given the Overseas Investment Office's recommendation to the ministers concerned will also be made available to the Fay group.

A telephone conference will take place on Monday on whether a judicial review will be sought to consider the steps taken relating to the sale.

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