Open Country opens butter plant
When American retail giant Cosco came to audit Open Country Dairy’s new butter plant at the Waharoa site and give the green light to supply their American stores, they allowed themselves a week for the exercise.
Shanghai Pengxin Group, which received OIO approval last week, has until tomorrow to finalise the deal with receivers KordaMentha. The receivers had set an initial deadline of January 31.
In a statement KordaMentha says the extension will allow Shanghai Pengxin to "deal with some final matters in its OIO approval".
A local consortium which made an unsuccessful bid for Crafar Farms is challenging in court the Government's decision to approve a Chinese buyer.
The Crafar Farms Purchase Group says the sale of Crafar Farms to Shanghai Pengxin "is wrong in law".
It warns if not overturned by Judicial Review, the decision sets up open season for any foreign buyers wanting New Zealand land.
The group is the highest New Zealand bidder offering $171.5 million for the 16 farms. The Government's farming SOE, Landcorp made a lower bid for the farms.
The court action filed last Tuesday is expected to be heard this week in the High Court at Wellington.
