| Decision | Consent granted Section 12(b) Overseas Investment Act 2005 |
|---|---|
| Decision Maker | Overseas Investment Office |
| Decision Date | 3 July 2020 |
| Pathway(s) | Sensitive land – special forestry test |
| Investment | An overseas investment in sensitive land, being the Applicant's acquisition of an additional 19% of the shares of Southland Plantation Forest Company of New Zealand Limited (SPFL) which owns sensitive land. |
| Consideration | Withheld under section 9(2)(b)(ii) of the Official Information Act 1982 |
| Applicant | Oji Holdings Corporation Japanese Public (74.6%) United States Public (11.68%) United Kingdom Public (6.35%) Various overseas persons (6.1%) Belgium Public (1.27%) |
| Vendor | Fuji Xerox Co., Limited Japan (100%) |
| Background | The Applicant has held a majority interest in SPFL since the early 1990s. The Applicant intends to acquire a further 19% of the shares of SPFL (currently owned by another overseas person), thereby increasing the Applicant’s ownership percentage of SPFL’s shares from 51% to 70%. SPFL owns mainly freehold interests (along with four forestry rights) in 38 separate Eucalyptus Niten forests in the South Otago/Southland region (Land). SPFL uses the Land for forestry activities, and will continue to use the Land for forestry activities after the proposed share acquisition proceeds. When harvested, logs from the Land are processed into wood chips in Invercargill and exported to the Oji Group for paper manufacturing. |
| More information | Catherine Reid Barrister catherine@catherinereid.co.nz |