Thursday, 18 July 2019 16:02

High Court approves Westland sale

Written by Rural News Group

font size decrease font size increase font size
Print
Email

Westland Milk Products' Hokitika site.

The sale of Westland Milk to Chinese company Yili is now complete.

The High Court today gave the final consent for Yili to take over the co-op from farmer shareholders for $588m.

The Overseas Investment Office (OIO) gave its blessings to the deal earlier this week.

The High Court decision means Westland shareholders will receive an immediate payment of $3.41/share in the company.

Yili already has a presence in New Zealand, after it acquired Oceania Dairy Group in 2013.

It has since invested approximately $660 million in establishing milk powder, infant formula and UHT production lines for Oceania.

Westland shareholders voted overwhelmingly to accept the Yili offer two weeks ago.

More like this

Buttery prize

OPINION: Westland Milk may have won the contract to supply butter to Costco NZ but Open Country Dairy is having the last laugh when it comes to cashing in on NZ grass-fed butter.

Strong growth for Yili's NZ operations

Chinese dairy giant Yili Group says its New Zealand operations are on track for strong revenue growth in 2025 after recording significant year-on-year growth for the first half of the year.

Top dairy CEO quits

Arguably one of the country's top dairy company's chief executives, Richard Wyeth has abruptly quit Chinese owned Westland Milk Products (WMP)

Fonterra's global ranking set to dip

Fonterra has climbed three places to number six on RaboResearch's annual Global Dairy Top 20 report.

OPINION: This old mutt well remembers the wailing, whining and gnashing of teeth by former West Coast MP and Labour Agriculture Minister Damian O’Connor when Chineseowned Yili took over the troubled dairy company Westland Milk a few years back.

Featured

Fonterra’s $3.2b capital return to farmers set to boost rural incomes and NZ economy

According to ASB, Fonterra's plan to sell it's Anchor and Mainlands brands could inject $4.5 billion in additional spending into the economy.

$2b boost in NZ exports to EU

New Zealand’s trade with the European Union has jumped $2 billion since a free trade deal entered into force in May last year.

US tariffs hit European ag machinery markets

The climate of uncertainty and market fragmentation that currently characterises the global economy suggests that many of the European agricultural machinery manufacturers will be looking for new markets.

Tributes paid to Jim Bolger

Dignitaries from all walks of life – the governor general, politicians past and present, Maoridom- including the Maori Queen, church leaders, the primary sector and family and friends packed Our Lady of Kapiti’s Catholic church in Paraparaumu on Thursday October 23 to pay tribute to former prime Minister, Jim Bolger who died last week.

Todd McClay urges farmers to prioritise safety amid storm

Agriculture and Forestry Minister, Todd McClay is encouraging farmers, growers, and foresters not to take unnecessary risks, asking that they heed weather warnings today.

Time for a viable dairy-beef system - RaboResearch

With nearly two million underutilised dairy calves born annually and the beef price outlook strong, New Zealand’s opportunity to build a scalable dairy-beef system is now.

National

Leah Prankerd: A passion for dairying and farmer support

It was love that first led Leah Prankerd to dairying.

From Calf Shows to Semex NZ: Rachel Cox’s dairy journey

When I interview Rachel Cox, she is driving - on her way to her next meeting.

Fonterra to boost UHT cream production with $150m plant

With Fonterra's UHT plant at its Edendale site less than a year from completion, demand continues to grow for products…

New scholarship to grow female leaders in dairy

A new $50,000 scholarship fund designed to support and empower women in the New Zealand dairy industry through leadership development…

High dairy payouts fuel record milk production across NZ

Many farmers around the country are taking advantage of the high dairy payout to get maximum production out of their cows.

Machinery & Products

Cheetah Electronics launches Rodent Shield to protect agricultural machinery from rodent damage

With the increased arrival of technology in modern agricultural machinery, it invariably means more wiring and electronic control modules. This brings…