| Decision | Consent Granted |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 31 March 2010 |
| Investment | An overseas investment in significant business assets, being the Applicant's acquisition of rights or interests in 100.0% of the shares of Next Holdings Limited, the value of the consideration of which exceeds $100m. |
| Consideration | To Be Advised |
| Applicant | Smart Technologies ULC United Kingdom Public (49.9%) Canadian Public (25.05%) United States Public (25.05%) |
| Vendor | Existing shareholders of Next Holdings Limited Kuwait Finance House (Bahrain) B.S.C., Kuwait (46.9797%) Jolimont Capital Partners Pty Limited, Australia (11.6019%) Ascot Private Equity Limited, United States of America (9.0402%) Touch Holdings Limited, New Zealand (8.1705%) Kuwait Public (5.9922%) Bahrain Public (5.9069%) Alan Munro, New Zealand (5.7018%) Nigel Devine, Singapore (1.9667%) Ascot Private Equity Number 2 Limited, United States of America (1.4523%) Andrew Stevens, New Zealand (1.1238%) Simon Bridger, New Zealand (0.8366%) Saudi Arabian Public (0.7154%) United Arab Emirates Public (0.2363%) Qatar Public (0.1969%) Swiss Public (0.0656%) Oman Public (0.0131%) |
| Background | The Applicant designs, develops and sells interactive technology products. Next Holdings Limited is a designer and manufacturer of optical touch screens for use in all-in-one computers, computer displays, and large format screens. It is a leader in optical touch technology. The Investment will allow the Applicant to enter into the small format consumer touch market; strengthen the Applicant's existing intellectual property portfolio through the acquisition of complementary intellectual property assets; use Next Holdings Limited’s technology assets to enhance and better exploit the Applicant's existing innovations; and realise additional value through growth in revenue and earnings. The overseas investment transaction has satisfied the criteria in section 18 of the Overseas Investment Act 2005. |
| More information | Jane Harris Simpson Grierson (Auckland) Private Bag 92518 Wellesley Street AUCKLAND |