Quayside Holdings' major investment asset is the council's majority stake in Port of Tauranga. Quayside has existing kiwifruit holdings of around 34ha managed by Seeka in the Rangiuru Business Park area. Te Tumu Paeroa manages significant Maori land holdings throughout New Zealand, including in the Eastern Bay of Plenty where Opac has long-term relationships with Maori growers.
"The investment also signals confidence in the prospects of both Opotiki and the Eastern Bay of Plenty as an area for horticulture, business development and employment growth," said Mr Coventry.
The rationale for the capital raise was the significant growth coming from its existing client base, he said.
"Our growers have always been reasonably heavily invested in Gold kiwifruit and with the conversion to SunGold (G3) post Psa, we're starting to see those crops hit full production. We need to match our processing capacity with the volumes that are coming out of the orchards."
During Psa, Opac allowed the lease on a processing facility in Gisborne to expire and has now consolidated its operations in Opotiki.
The capital raise will support an investment programme begun earlier this year to install a new packing line and cool storage facilities at the site.
Quayside Holdings chief executive Scott Hamilton said the investment company saw kiwifruit as a significant part of the local economy.
"This is a good opportunity to invest into that part of the value chain," he said.
It also allowed Quayside to invest into a part of the Bay which the Regional Growth Study had identified as having the potential for significant growth.
"We see this as a great opportunity."
Opac was advised on the transaction by James Beale of Beale Capital Consultants.
Opotiki Packing and Coolstorage (Opac)
* A kiwifruit post-harvest and orcharding business.
* Provides services to 700 canopy hectares of kiwifruit orchards.
* Processed more than 5.5million trays in 2015.
