A proposed kiwifruit industry merger between two post-harvest operators has fallen just short of getting the required support.
The boards of Satara and EastPack, who pack kiwifruit for sale, asked their growers and investors to back a merger on Friday. The industry is struggling in the face of a high exchange rate and falling supply due to the PSA vine disease.
EastPack shareholders were 97% in favour of the merger.
There were five voting groups within Satara which were asked to vote and four of those five were also strongly in favour of a merger.
But growers who supply Satara with kiwifruit gave the proposed merger only 74.8% support - just 0.2% shy of the 75% required.
Satara chairman Hendrik Pieters said he's very disappointed that one group within the company effectively blocked the merger.
He said both companies will assess the results before making a decision on whether to ask their shareholders to vote again on a merger.
