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Health products manufacturer Comvita has acquired medical honey maker Kiwibee for $2.15 million in an effort to maintain supply of the raw material.
The acquisition of the North Island business includes 3000 beehives on 150 Manuka sites , land, buildings and an extraction facility.
Kiwibee "enables us to further develop the most efficient procedures to harvest this unique and special resource and to set the highest standards for our medical honey supply programme," Comvita chief executive Brett Hewlett said.
"We can then work with all of Comvita's beekeeper suppliers to create maximum value for everyone."
Mr Hewlett declined to tell nzherald.co.nz how much Kiwibee would contribute to the company's future earnings, except to say "I don't think it'll be material."
Kiwibee generates around $1 million in annual sales, he said.
Eighty per cent of the acquisition will be paid for in cash and the rest through a share issue.
