Receivers closed to rival Crafar bids

Photo / Christine Cornege

Receivers for the Crafar dairy farms are refusing to consider rival bids, including one from former owner Allan Crafar, until the Overseas Investment Office and Government reconsider Shanghai Pengxin's offer.

The OIO and ministers Maurice Williamson and Jonathan Coleman were told to reconsider their approval for the Chinese company's offer by High Court Judge Forrie Miller.

Crafar farms receiver Brendan Gibson, of KordaMentha, has given Shanghai Pengxin until Wednesday next week to come back with an offer that has OIO and Government sign-off.

Former owner Mr Crafar yesterday said he wanted to buy the farms back.

"We've got sufficient money available and arranged to pay the amount that the Chinese are paying."

Mr Crafar said he had spoken with the receivers yesterday and been told they would not cancel Shanghai Pengxin's deal, "even though the Chinese have missed several deadlines, which wouldn't happen if I was trying to do a deal. They won't let us match their funds. They want $70 million more ...

"They want all the penalty interest and stuff that the receiver hasn't paid when he's been running the farms."

Mr Crafar said he had initiated legal action against the receivers and banks with mortgages over the farms.

Mr Gibson said Mr Crafar had not been in touch yesterday, but there were "a lot of people who are expressing interest in buying the properties".

However he would not consider any other offer until that from Shanghai Pengxin expired or was otherwise prevented from proceeding.

That included the bid from a Sir Michael Fay-led consortium that includes iwi, which is thought to be about $30 million less than the approximately $200 million Shanghai Pengxin have offered.

Meanwhile, Federated Farmers dairy chairman Willy Leferink questioned why the farms were not being sold off individually, which he said was likely to mean the matter was resolved faster. "There are plenty of farmers who could have bought individual farms as going concerns."

However, Mr Gibson said buyers were free to make offers for individual farms during the sale process.

"The best price we received was as a group."