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SFF chair Rob Hewett.
The long-running hotly contested Silver Fern Farms (SFF) and Shanghai Maling partnership is now complete.
SFF co-op chair Rob Hewett says this month’s completion of the $267m investment in SFF by Shanghai Maling will be welcome news to shareholders and suppliers.
“This partnership is a genuine game-changer for SFF. It delivers a strong and sustainable capital structure, the resources to accelerate our plate-to-pasture strategy in selected global markets and the capital to invest in optimising our production facilities and capability.”
Hewett says he believes a key factor in the joint venture is that it brings a collaborative and connected partner in the fastest growing red meat market in the world – China.
“We have had overwhelming support from our shareholders throughout this process, and we are excited by the opportunities this partnership with Shanghai Maling will provide.”
Shanghai Maling has invested $267m cash in return for a 50% stake in SFF’s business (now named Silver Fern Farms Ltd). Of the $267m, $57m stays with the co-operative, along with its 50% holding in SFF Ltd.
“The co-op board will [shortly announce] the process for redeeming about $5m of remaining supplier investment shares,” Hewett says. “In January, the terms of the $35m special dividend for the holders of ordinary and rebate shares will be decided.”
Hewett says both are expected to be completed by the end of February 2017.
Meanwhile, director appointments to the new SFF board have been announced, including two New Zealand resident directors, by Shanghai Maling:
Appointed by SFF: Rob Hewett (co-chair), Dan Jex-Blake, Richard Young, Jane Taylor and Trevor Burt.
Appointed by Shanghai Maling: Xia Xu Shen (co-chair), Gu Xiang Yi, He Ru, Sam Robinson and Michael Schubert.
Hewett welcomed Xu Shen Xia, the chairman of Shanghai Maling, as co-chair; Xu will take the director and co-chair role in place of Wei Ping Shen.
“I am delighted with the calibre of the board for the partnership.”
Canterbury farmer Andy Macfarlane has been appointed to the board of AgriZeroNZ, the public-private partnership designed to accelerate the development and deployment of emissions reduction tools for New Zealand farmers.
As dairy farmers lock in plans for the upcoming mating season, a partnership between Fonterra and Silver Fern Farms has been formed with the aim of making it simpler to create additional value from calves not entering the replacement herd.
Applications for Silver Fern Farms Co-operative's next board-appointed farmer director are open.
Silver Fern Farms has tackled the ongoing war-induced shipping challenges to mideast markets by airlifting 90 tonnes of chilled New Zealand lamb and beef to the United Arab Emirates.
Silver Fern Farms has successfully produced and delivered 90 tonnes of premium chilled New Zealand lamb and beef to the United Arab Emirates via airfreight.
LIC shareholders have elected a new North Island representative to the co-operative's Board, along with five representatives to its Shareholder Reference Group (SRG), following the company's Annual Meeting held in Invercargill.
Farmers across parts of Southland and South Otago are continuing to deal with difficult conditions after a prolonged run of wet weather, with pressure building around feed supply, stock management, pasture damage, farm infrastructure and everyday workloads.
Federated Farmers says it welcomes Labour's commitment to reviewing the Sharemilking Agreements Act, calling on other major parties to do the same.
For Canterbury dairy farmers Sian Meijer and Rick Wobben, wearable technology has become one of their most valuable on-farm tools - helping manage 1850 cows across an expansive, high-performing dairy operation while improving efficiency, mating outcomes and day-to-day decision making.
Fonterra has unveiled its annual results for the 2026 financial year, posting $27 billion in revenue and close to $20 billion returned to New Zealand farmer owners and unit holders.
The first major update to the Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare in more than a decade has been released, marking what DairyNZ describes as an important step in ensuring animal welfare standards continue to evolve alongside scientific evidence and on-farm realities.
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