OIO approves Cedenco sale

New Zealand's Overseas Investment Office (OIO) has given the thumbs up to the sale of Cedenco Foods to Japan's CDC Foods Ltd.

Cedenco, one of New Zealand's biggest fruit and vegetable processors, was placed into receivership by ANZ National Bank in November last year, after it defaulted on $46 million owed to the bank and $4.7m to unsecured creditors, but continued to trade while a buyer was sought.

The company's Australian affiliates SK Foods Australia, Cedenco JV Australia and SS Farms Australia were also placed into receivership at the time, and liquidator Ian Lock of Sheahan Lock Partners estimates the Australian entities owe the New Zealand businesses some $11 million.

The price of the acquisition was not disclosed, and Lock said it was unclear as to how much cash there will be for unsecured creditors.

CDC Foods Ltd is owned by Imanaka, an importer and exporter of food, housing and chemical products, and will continue to operate the Cedenco business.

At the time of receivership, both SK Foods in the US and Cedenco were owned by a Salyer family trust, which acquired the Gisborne-based company in 2003.

The SK Foods has been the subject of a major controversy this year, after its former CEO Frederick Scott Salyer, was arrested in the U.S in February on racketeering and corruption charges related to a scheme to quash competition of his tomato processing firm and sell SK Foods' tomato products at inflated prices.