KEY POINTS:
Tourism Holdings Limited (THL) says it has conditionally sold its 49 per cent share of InterCity Holdings for $9.5 million to its joint venture partner InterCity Group.
Although the business, which operated the Fullers and Kings tourist boat operations in the Bay of Islands and the InterCity bus network and Great Sights/Newmans coach networks, was an excellent business, it was not core to THL's operations, THL chief executive Grant Webster said.
The sale comes just over a year since the joint venture started.
THL would book a loss on the sale of its shareholding in the order of $3.7m, which will be included in the December half year results.
Cash from the sale will be received over 12 months, with $4m receivable immediately.
The proceeds will be used to reduce debt.
Meanwhile, THL had completed negotiations with the Ruapuha Uekaha Hapu Trust and the Department of Conservation for a five-year extension of its licence to operate the Waitomo Glowworm Caves from 2022 until 2027.
The extension moves the agreement from a licence to a lease and defines the commercial terms.
Mr Webster said the company was delighted to have entered into the long term agreement "that will benefit all those involved while helping to protect the environment in one of New Zealand's most iconic tourist attractions".
The new agreement coincided with start of the rebuild of the Waitomo Glowworm Caves Visitor centre, which was destroyed by fire in December 2005.
- NZPA
