Overseas investment decision for case 201900453 - Cloudy Bay Vineyards Limited

Cloudy Bay Vineyards Limited (Cloudy Bay) seeks consent to acquire approximately 9.5213 hectares of land at 164 Jacksons Road, Rapaura, Blenheim (the Land).

Cloudy Bay is an established New Zealand winemaker, well-known for its sauvignon blanc wine which represents approximately 78% of its output and of which 98% is exported. Cloudy Bay is ultimately 66% owned by LVMH Moёt Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, a multinational luxury brand conglomerate, and 34% owned by Diageo plc, a United-Kingdom based alcohol beverage company.

Cloudy Bay seeks to acquire the Land, which is currently planted 6.3 hectares in sauvignon blanc grapes and 1.3 hectares in pinot gris grapes, to bolster its production of sauvignon blanc. It plans to replant the 1.3 hectares of pinot gris grapes into sauvignon blanc and apply to the land its labour-intensive harvesting techniques. Cloudy Bay’s long track-record of wine production and its existing global distribution networks will assist in its ability to command a premium overseas as compared to average New Zealand sauvignon blanc prices.

This application was called-in by Ministers to decide. Ministers considered that the benefit established in relation to the size and nature of the land was ‘substantial and identifiable’, and therefore that consent should be granted.