Potential takeover of Synlait Farms

18 October 2013

Potential takeover of Synlait Farms

Federated Farmers will be watching developments very closely as Shanghai Pengxin Group backed Standard Farm Limited, forms part of a consortia looking to takeover Synlait Farms Limited.

“Federated Farmers supports the Overseas Investment Act and especially the much tougher tests incorporated into it,” says Bruce Wills, Federated Farmers President.

“Clearly this is a large scale investment covering 4,000 hectares of irrigated dairy land. There are new tests introduced three years that sets the bar much higher with sensitive land.

“We will be examining the application very carefully because we wish to understand what the strategy is here. Through a wholly owned subsidiary, Shanghai Pengxin Group is looking to add to its existing holdings in the North Island so we need to get the full picture.

“Federated Farmers wishes to ensure there are real economic benefits to New Zealand farming and to New Zealand itself. I think that’s at the heart of the new tests.

“You could say we are being cautious because we are attune to the prospect of vertical ownership of both land and processing. Speaking plainly, such an eventuality would concern us.

“As with any journey, it is not necessarily where you start out but where you end up,” Mr Wills concluded.

ends

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