| Decision | Consent granted Section 12(a) Overseas Investment Act 2005 |
|---|---|
| Decision Maker | The Minister for Land Information and the Associate Minister of Finance |
| Decision Date | 11 December 2018 |
| Investment | An overseas investment in sensitive land, being the Applicant's acquisition of approximately 70.5305 hectares of freehold and 109.8143 hectares of leasehold land in Central Otago being the land associated with the Mt Difficulty Wines Limited vineyard. |
| Consideration | $52,000,000 |
| Applicant | Foley Family Wines Limited William P. Foley II and Carol J. Foley, United States of America (57.4802%) New Zealand Public and Various Entities, New Zealand (17.03%) New Zealand Central Securities Depository Limited, New Zealand (16.51%) United States Public (3.3479%) Tony and Deidree Anslemi Family Trust, New Zealand (2.1134%) William Patrick Foley II, United States of America (2.0697%) Anthony Mark Turnbull, New Zealand (1.4488%) |
| Vendor | Mt Difficulty Wines Limited New Zealand (100%) |
| Background | The Applicant is an NZX listed entity that owns a number of vineyards throughout New Zealand including Martinborough Vineyard, Te Kairanga Vineyard and Grove Mill Winery. The Applicant is majority owned by Bill Foley and his related entities. Bill Foley is a US based investor and has undertaken a number of investments in New Zealand particularly in the hospitality sector. The Applicant intends to acquire the Mt Difficulty Vineyard expand their portfolio to include a premium pinot noir offering. The Applicant intends to leverage its existing export networks to increase exports of Mt Difficulty products, it intends to do so by cross marketing the Mt Difficulty products with its existing wine labels to provide their customers with increased variety. The Applicant intends to continue with the Vendor’s plans to develop the restaurant and cellar door facility at the Mt Difficulty Vineyard. In addition to this development, the Applicant also intends to develop a restaurant at their Te Kairanga Vineyard in Martinborough. The Applicant is likely to introduce additional investment for development purposes to develop the restaurants along with a barrel facility at Te Kairanga and upgrades to the Grove Mill Winery. The Applicant will create nine jobs as a result of the Investment which will mostly be based in the Wairarapa and Marlborough regions. As the Applicant is listed on the NZX and has approximately 30% New Zealand ownership, it is considered that New Zealanders will have oversight and the ability to participate in the Investment. |
| More information | Andrew Petersen Bell Gully PO Box 4199 AUCKLAND 1140 |
This assessment report was released as part of an Official Information Act request: Overseas investment into vineyards and wine companies between 2018 and 2021
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