| Decision | Consent granted Section 13(1)(a) Overseas Investment Act 2005 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 27 August 2013 |
| Investment | An overseas investment in significant business assets, being the Applicant's acquisition of rights or interests in up to 100% of the shares of Ezibuy Holdings Limited (“EHL”), through the acquisition of EHL shares, and through the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Multichannel Holdings Limited which holds EHL shares though its subsidiary Multichannel Limited. |
| Consideration | $350,000,000 |
| Applicant | Woolworths New Zealand Group Limited Australian Public (98.5%) New Zealand Public (1.02%) Various overseas persons (0.48%) |
| Vendor | Existing shareholders of Ezibuy Holdings Limited and Multichannel Holdings Limited New Zealand Public and Various Entities, New Zealand (55.15%) Catalyst Buyout Fund 1B Pty Limited, Australia (19.4125%) Catalyst Buyout Fund 1A Pty Limited, Australia (19.4125%) Catalyst Buyout Fund 1AB, Sweden (3.765%) Judy Tania Skeczek, Australia (2.26%) |
| Background | Woolworths New Zealand Group Limited wishes to acquire Ezibuy Holdings Limited. Woolworths New Zealand Group Limited (and its parent Woolworths Limited) own extensive supermarket operations in New Zealand and Australia respectively. Ezibuy Holdings Limited is a multichannel operator of fashion clothing and home décor in Australasia. Woolworths New Zealand Group Limited envisage the acquisition will enable an expansion of online sales to customers across Woolworths Limited’s New Zealand and Australian business and acceleration of apparel growth in its stores. The overseas investment transaction has satisfied the criteria in section 18 of the Overseas Investment Act 2005. |
| More information | David Hoare Russell McVeagh PO Box 8 AUCKLAND |