Southland farmer Ed Pinckney will now own the 1359ha sheep and beef station in Fiordland. Landcorp Farming said it went with Pinckney after the preferred foreign buyer withdrew.
“We’ve been advised that the preferred purchaser of Jericho farm has withdrawn their application from the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) and is therefore unable to complete the purchase of the farm,” a Landcorp spokesman said.
“We have proceeded to finalise the sale and purchase of the farm with the party that has made an unconditional back-up offer, which does not require OIO approval.”
Pinckney, who bid $8.5 million, was initially pipped by an $8.7m offer from Chinese buyer Qianlong Farms when the farm was put to market in late 2016.
The OIO declined to comment other than to confirm the applicant had withdrawn their application.
It is not known why Qianlong had withdrawn, but it has been reported that the hurdles the company faced may have been too high.
Landcorp recently reported an underlying loss for Jericho Station of $6m in the six months to December 31.
