Applicant
Oji Paper Company Limited
Case number(s)
200720011
Decision date
Type
Decision
Decision number200720011
Application number200710076
Date2 August 2007
Offeror/applicantOji Paper Company Limited
Ultimate applicant beneficial ownership84.6 percent - Japan, Japanese Public
5.4 percent - United Kingdom, United Kingdom Public
5.3 percent - Various, Various overseas persons
4.7 percent - United States of America, United States Public
Beneficial overseas ownership 
- Asset currentN/A
- Asset proposedN/A
- Share current100 percent
- Share proposed100 percent
Offeree(s)/seller(s)Nippon Paper Industries Company Limited of Japan
Business activitiesForestry
Details of land involved

4,982.5816 hectares of freehold comprising:

  1. 4,341.9087 hectares situated at Tangoio Forest, Hastings District, Hawkes Bay being various CTs (Hawkes Bay Registry); and
  2. 640.6729 hectares situated at Wairoa View Block, Wairoa District. being CT GS4C/1482 (Gisborne Registry).

1,593.2 hectares of leasehold situated at Te Kowhai Forestry Block, Hastings being CT 194635 (Hawkes Bay Registry).

Regions involvedGisborne/Hawkes Bay
Total consideration$31,298,886 being an agreed value having taken into account specific joint venture arrangements and therefore does not necessarily reflect the market value of the land and the shares involved.
Consent soughtTo acquire up to 100 percent of the shares of Pan Pac Forest Products Limited.
Rationale

The application has been approved as it met the criteria.

The Overseas Investment Office is satisfied that the individuals with control of the Applicant collectively have business experience and acumen relevant to the overseas investment, and that the Applicant has demonstrated financial commitment towards the overseas investment. The Overseas Investment Office is further satisfied that each individual that exercises control over the Applicant is of good character and is not an individual of the kind referred to in section 7(1) of the Immigration Act 1987.

Background:
The Applicant currently holds 86.7% of the shares in Pan Pac with the remaining 13.3% being held by Nippon Paper Industries Company Limited (Nippon). The acquisition will result in the Applicant acquiring the remainder of the shares from Nippon and therefore becoming sole shareholder of Pan Pac.

Outline of Proposed Investment:
Through this further investment in Pan Pac, the Applicant expects to see further growth in Pan Pac's operations which comprise the management of approximately 32,500 hectares of forestry and a pulp and lumber processing division situated at Whirinaki, Hawkes Bay. The Applicant will continue to assist Pan Pac through providing human resources, business administration and planning assistance. The Applicant intends that Pan Pac will produce and export more Thermo-Mechanical Pulping Product, to Japan.

Rationale for Proposed Investment:
The proposed investment will enhance the Applicant's security of access to both pulp and wood materials to meet market opportunities in Japan.

The proposal is likely to result in the following benefit:
The Applicant is a key person in a key industry of Japan, with which New Zealand is likely to benefit from having improved relations a leader in the international wood products trade, having supplied paper products for over 130 years.

Given the Applicant's standing as a leader in the international wood products trade, declining this application would likely adversely affect New Zealand's image overseas.

ContactAlistair McDonald/Rebecca Scott
Minter Ellison Rudd Watts
PO Box 2793
WELLINGTON