KEY POINTS:
Overseas-owned businesses got Government approval for property deals worth $2.3 billion in the latest round of applications.
The Overseas Investment Office has just distributed its October monthly decision sheets showing the biggest deal approved was a $317 million transaction over 11ha of strategic land for radio transmission in
Christchurch.
CC Media of the United States sought clearance to buy Clear Channel Communications which owned the land.
The broader acquisition gives CC Media an indirect half-stake in ARN Holdings (NZ) which owns The Radio Network and operates 100 radio stations, including Newstalk ZB, Classic Hits and Radio Sport.
The office said ARN had assets in New Zealand worth more than $100 million, including a transmission station on land classified as "sensitive" under the Overseas Investment Act. This site is at Lower Styx Rd in Christchurch.
A $115 million deal was approved for Goodman NZ Holdings - an associate of the listed Goodman Property Trust - to sell a Mt Eden property to Orchard NZ Trustees of Australia. Orchard wants to buy the Eden Business Park at 14-18 Enfield St and 30-40 Normanby Rd. Orchard told the office the investment would double the value of its property assets in New Zealand.
This year, Orchard bought SkyCity Metro, the cinema, retail and entertainment building on Auckland's Queen St.
Orchard said the Mt Eden property had shops which were a good fit with the existing retail tenancies in its SkyCity Metro building.
A subsidiary of listed Fletcher Building was cleared to buy a 20 per cent stake in an Asian venture which operates a medium-density fibreboard plant in Gore.
Laminex Group applied for approval of a $26 million deal with South Korea's Dongwha Pattina for a stake in the 124ha Southland site.
Axa Capital Asia Direct, 49 per cent owned by Canadian interests, got approval for a $22 million deal to buy manufacturer Sirius NZ Holdco. And in another transaction, Castle Harlan of the US got approval for a $22.3 million deal with existing shareholders in Sirius NZ Holdco.
A $24 million deal for ArborGen of the US to buy assets from Trees & Technology of the US was also approved. More than 170ha of land in the Northland Gisborne/Hawkes Bay, Nelson/Marlborough and Waikato areas was involved. A $10.5 million related deal was also approved for Trees & Technology to buy land from Carter Holt Harvey Genetics.
Impress NZ of Britain was cleared to buy Australian-owned Amcor Packaging (NZ) for $16.7 million.
Van der Werf Farms got clearance for a $9.3 million deal to buy 238ha of dairy farmland from a New Zealand entity.
