Japanese firm eyes BIL's Sealord stake

By PAULA OLIVER

The Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission is likely today to complete details for a joint bid for Brierley Investments' half-share in fishing company Sealord.

Sources close to discussions say the commission will settle a deal with Japanese company Nissui at a meeting in Palmerston North, with the possibility of an offer being put to Brierley immediately after.

Senior Brierley representatives are in the country after a shareholder meeting yesterday, raising the possibility that an offer could be dealt with quickly - as early as this week.

But price is understood to be still a sticking point, with Brierley asking $200 million and the joint venture unlikely to offer it.

Commission chief executive Robin Hapi said progress was being made in finding a partner, but he refused to comment on rumours of an imminent offer.

He said the commission wanted a partner which had the same value-added strategies as itself, and would help with its aim to get more Maori into the business.

BIL, which has been trying to offload its half-share in one of the country's largest fishing companies since February, is understood to be keen to see something concrete come out of the commission's meeting.

Sealord controls at least a quarter of the fishing quota issued by the Government.

It also has operations in southern Africa, east Asia and northern Europe.

After seeing a foreign offer quashed by the Government at the last minute in July, Brierley can sell only 24.9 per cent of Sealord to an overseas buyer.

It may have to settle for less cash than it hoped for, after seeing the value of the share drop when the Government stopped the sale.

The commission has pre-emptive rights on the stake, and has been trawling through discussions with prospective partners since the Government's ruling.

Two South African fishing giants have shown interest, and a local consortium involving Sanford and Amaltal is also understood to have nibbled at the deal.

The commission is likely to make it difficult for Brierley to sell its share to somebody else, meaning Brierley's options may be to accept a lower price or not sell at all.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters put the sale into the spotlight last week when he said that a deal was about to struck with Nissui.

In a question to Fisheries Minister Pete Hodgson in Parliament, Mr Peters suggested that the commission was seeking to borrow money from Nissui's parent company, Nippon Suisan, to fund a joint venture for the Sealord share.

Mr Peters asked if such a deal would breach the Government ruling that a foreign company could own only a quarter of the company.

Mr Hodgson, whose approval is likely to be a prerequisite for a deal so important to the country's fishing quota, would not comment on any applications he had seen.