Applicant
Cloudy Bay Vineyards Limited
Case number(s)
201610095
Decision date
Type
Decision
DecisionConsent granted
Section 12(a) Overseas Investment Act 2005
Decision Date3 November 2016
InvestmentAn overseas investment in sensitive land, being the acquisition by Cloudy Bay Vineyards Limited of a freehold interest in approximately 21.2450 hectares of land at Jeffries Road, Blenheim.
Consideration$4,945,000
ApplicantCloudy Bay Vineyards Limited
Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy SA, France (66.0%)
Diageo Plc, United Kingdom (34.0%)
VendorStaete Landt Wine Company Limited
Rudi Arie Maasdam, New Zealand (75.24%)
Anthony Michael Graham Swift, United Kingdom (12.38%)
Graham Nicholas Hazell, United Kingdom (12.38%)
Background

The Applicant is a long-established owner and operator of vineyards and wineries in the Marlborough and Central Otago regions. The Applicant intends to acquire the land to meet increasing export demand for sauvignon blanc and pinot noir wines.

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)(iii) – Increased export receipts
17(2)(a)(iv) – Greater efficiency/productivity
17(2)(a)(v) – Additional investment for development purposes
17(2)(a)(vi) – Increased processing of primary products

Overseas Investment Regulations 2005
28(e) – Previous investments

More informationAndrew Monteith
Minter Ellison Rudd Watts
PO Box 3798
AUCKLAND 1140