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A 1980s Australian sharemarket darling yesterday announced it had slipped into New Zealand's marine sector, paying $43 million for the Orams Marine Village in Auckland's Viaduct Basin.
Ariadne Australia - the once-controversial corporate raider - has turned to more sedate activities in the last decade.
Property development, carparking operations, investment and financial services are the main focus for the Brisbane-headquartered company, listed on the ASX in 1982 and chaired by Guinness Peat Group director Gary Weiss.
The company once headed by New Zealander Bruce Judge returned from the corporate wilderness some years ago and has expanded into Australian real estate, specialising in the marine sector.
Chief executive Murray Boyte said yesterday his company had bought the marine village in Auckland which has a 350-vessel dry stack, international superyacht slipway, vessel repair yard, marine service centre and conference lounge.
The deal is conditional on the Government's Overseas Investment Office giving approval.
Boyte said Ariadne bought the property with a group of private investors and will keep a 50 per cent shareholding and long-term management contract for the marine service centre.
The purchase fitted neatly into Ariadne's focus on investment and management in marina and marine service assets, he said.
The company has marina interests on Australia's eastern seaboard on the Gold Coast, Port Macquarie and Bateman's Bay in New South Wales.
Earlier this decade, Judge was reported to be managing a vineyard in the south of France, buying into a mineral water business. But in the mid-1980s, he was hailed as the country's most successful businessman, credited with building Ariadne into a A$1.8 billion ($2 billion) conglomerate which owned a string of public companies including Repco, Impala Pacific, Renouf Corp, Judge Corp and Kupe.
In the late 1980s, Ariadne posted a A$640 million loss - said at the time to be the largest collapse in Australian corporate history.
The trading businesses of Orams Marine Sales, which included Riviera Sports NZ, Orams Marine Fairline (owned and operated by Neven Barbour and Kip and Lyn Kempthorne) and Orams Marine Services (owned and operated by Craig Park) were not included in the deal.
These business would continue to operate on the site under long-term lease arrangements, Boyte said.
He said the Kempthornes had successfully built the village into a world-class international facility over the past 32 years.
Kip Kempthorne said he endorsed Ariadne's plan to develop the Orams brand and systems at an international level.
