Liam Dann: The 'King of mergers' behind deal

Craig Norgate wasn't putting his hand up to claim the credit yesterday but there are few in the agricultural sector who would doubt he is the driver behind the merger of Wrightson and Pyne Gould Guinness.

In fact, less than two years after deciding it was time to give the rural services sector a shake-up, the former Fonterra boss has already pulled together its three biggest players (Wrightson also took over Williams & Kettle in March).

Norgate's vision has created an entity which could finally give the sharemarket's long-suffering rural sector investors the returns they deserve from the nation's most profitable pastime.

It is an amazing achievement, but Norgate is not new to mega-mergers.

From the age of 26 (he's now 40), Norgate led the Kiwi Dairy co-operative through a series of mergers and takeovers that culminated in the creation of Fonterra. In less than a decade, he grew Kiwi's revenue from $300 million to $4 billion.

The speed at which Norgate is comfortable making his corporate plays may well be the very thing that unsettled Fonterra's directors in 2003 and prompted them to look elsewhere for a long-term leader.

Whether it was right to dump him after just two years in the job is a debate that is no doubt still being argued in milking sheds and pubs.

As a manager, Norgate may have had rough edges, but yesterday he re-affirmed his place as New Zealand's king of mergers and acquisitions.

There are several regulatory hurdles before this deal is complete.

It is hard to believe that the merger of an industry's three biggest players could avoid the attention of the Commerce Commission.

But while it will no doubt take a hard look, the sector is so fragmented its new giant will still account for just 15 per cent of turnover.

There is also the task of integrating two businesses and forging a culture that retains the strength of both. Business is littered with mergers that backfired at that point.

But judging by the market's reaction, there is a feeling that the hardest part of this deal is done.