| Decision | Consent granted Section 13(1)(a) Overseas Investment Act 2005 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 29 October 2014 |
| Investment | An overseas investment in significant business assets, being the Applicant's acquisition of rights or interests in 100% of the shares of NZ Snack Food Holdings Limited, the consideration of which exceeds $100m. |
| Consideration | $750,000,000 |
| Applicant | URC New Zealand Finance Company Limited Philippines Public (84.14%) Gokongwei Brothers Foundation Inc., Philippines (15.86%) |
| Vendor | Existing shareholders in NZ Snack Food Holdings Limited United States Public (48.48%) Various Overseas Persons (26.17%) Australian Public (14.41%) United Kingdom Public (6.64%) Management and Employees of Griffin's Foods Limited, New Zealand (3.5%) Griffin's Share Scheme Trustee Limited, New Zealand (0.8%) |
| Background | The Applicant’s parent company Universal Robina Corporation and its subsidiaries have a large branded food product business in the Phillipines and a growing presence in other Asian markets. NZ Snack Food Holdings Limited is a leading snack food company in New Zealand, and operates two plants for manufacturing its biscuits and salty/wrapped snacks. The Applicant envisages that the acquisition will provide an opportunity to acquire an established and well-managed fast moving consumer goods business in New Zealand, and allow the Applicant to acquire brands and intellectual property which can be utilised in the Applicant's existing markets. The overseas investment transaction has satisfied the criteria in section 18 of the Overseas Investment Act 2005. |
| More information | Matthew Olsen Mayne Wetherell PO Box 3797 Shortland Street AUCKLAND |