| Decision | Consent Granted Section 12(b) Overseas Investment Act 2005 Section 13(1) Overseas Investment Act 2005 |
|---|---|
| Decision Maker | Overseas Investment Office |
| Decision Date | 17 April 2019 |
| Investment | An overseas investment in both significant business assets and sensitive land, being the Applicant's acquisition of rights or interests in up to 100% of the shares of PGG Wrightson Seeds Holdings Limited (“PGW Seeds”) which has leasehold interests in the following sensitive land:
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| Consideration | $413,350,000 |
| Applicant | DLF Seeds A/S DLF AmbA, Denmark (95.1%) DLG AmbA, Denmark (4.85%) Danish Public (0.05%) |
| Vendor | PGG Wrightson Limited Singapore Public (50.42%) New Zealand Public (44.96%) United States Public (1.5%) United Kingdom Public (1.44%) Australian Public (1.08%) Various (0.6%) |
| Background | The Applicant is a Danish seeds and plant breeding company owned by a cooperative of approximately 3000 Danish seed growers. It currently has a small presence in New Zealand through its subsidiary DLF Seeds Limited. PGW Seeds is the seeds business of New Zealand agricultural company PGG Wrightson Limited. PGW Seeds is involved in developing, growing and distributing proprietary and non-proprietary grass, forage seeds and other seeds. The main benefit the investment will provide is the introduction of genomic screening technology into New Zealand. This will allow grasses to be screened on the basis of their genetic potential and means that grasses that are likely to have desirable traits can be selected before field trials are carried out. This may save years carrying out field trials on grasses that are unlikely to perform well. Other benefits include:
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| More information | Simon Vannini Simpson Grierson Private Bag 92518 AUCKLAND 1141 |