Applicant
GH Westbury Pty Limited
Case number(s)
200910027
Decision date
Type
Decision
DecisionConsent granted
Section 12(b) Overseas Investment Act 2005
Decision date15 April 2009
InvestmentAn overseas investment in sensitive land, being the Applicant's acquisition of rights or interests in 50.0% of the shares of NZ Thoroughbred Holdings Limited which owns or controls a freehold interest in 85.3597 hectares of land at 699 & 700 - 716 Linwood Road, Te Hihi, Karaka.
Consideration$5,000,500
ApplicantGH Westbury Pty Limited
Australia (100.0%)
VendorBGH Trusteeship Limited and Michael Tololi as trustees of the Tololi Services Trust
New Zealand (100.0%)
Background

The acquisition will provide the Applicant with a presence in the New Zealand thoroughbred industry and access to one of New Zealand's largest sire rosters. This is likely to result in:

  1. the breeding of using stallions and broodmares sourced from both New Zealand and Australia;
  2. the development of the New Zealand export market of thoroughbreds to foreign stables and auction houses.

The overseas investment transaction has satisfied the criteria in section 16 of the Overseas Investment Act 2005. The 'substantial and identifiable benefit to New Zealand' criteria were satisfied by particular reference to the following factors:

Overseas Investment Act 2005
17(2)(a)(i) – Creation/Retention of jobs
17(2)(a)(ii) – New technology or business skills
17(2)(a)(iii) – Increased export receipts
17(2)(a)(iv) – Added market competition/Productivity
17(2)(a)(v) – Additional investment for development purposes

Overseas Investment Regulations 2005
28(b) – Key person in a key industry
28(c) – Affect image, trade or international relations
28(f) – Advance significant government policy or strategy

More informationDavid Lewis
Kensington Swan (Auckland)
Private Bag 92-101
AUCKLAND