Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Biggest dairy corporate to become fully NZ-owned

Updated at 8:03 pm on 3 February 2012

New Zealand's biggest corporate dairy farming business is to become fully New Zealand owned, as the result of the sale of shares by receivers for South Canterbury Finance, and American investors also selling up.

South Canterbury Finance had owned a third of Dairy Holdings.

The receivers for South Canterbury Finance say they have sold the company's 33.6% stake for $56.4 million to existing shareholders.

US shareholders had another 25% of the company.

Both lots of shares have been sold to remaining New Zealand shareholders, who are Colin and Dale Armer, Alan Pye and an investment company, Jagewi Ltd.

Dairy Holdings owns 58 South Island dairy farms and leases 15 grazing blocks covering a total of 18,000 hectares.

In the past season, it produced 14 million kilograms of milk solids from 43,000 cows.

Dairy Holdings is valued at more than $535 million and the receivers for South Canterbury Finance will receive almost $55 million from the sale of its shares.

One of the receivers, Kerryn Downey, says they are delighted that the sale has been to local buyers and will not require Overseas Investment Office approval.

Copyright © 2012, Radio New Zealand