KEY POINTS:
Overseas entities won the right to spend $1.8 billion buying New Zealand assets in the latest round of approvals by the Government's foreign investment agency.
Land involved in the approvals totalled 126ha and the deals included commercial and rural real estate.
The biggest application featuring in the Overseas Investment Office's (OIO) latest decisions in February came from Citigroup of the United States.
Citigroup was cleared to spend $723,096,000 buying Nikko Cordial Corporation of Japan. The office said Citigroup and Nikko had built a strong relationship over time.
Citigroup has acquired an indirect interest in a group of New Zealand companies including the Hirequip Group and the Fleet Partners Group.
Apart from that, the three largest approvals this year have been:
* Crescent Capital Partners' acquisition of up to 100 per cent of the shares of Abano Healthcare Group, a net investment of $106,705,716;
* Contact Energy, 153.28ha of freehold at Aratiatia Station, Taupo, net $3,190,459;
* Nobilo Wine Group, 22.196ha of leasehold land at Waihopai Valley Road, Blenheim, net $993,761.
Another deal approved in February was US-owned Borders Group, which applied to buy shares in A&R Whitcoulls Group for $130 million. However, last month protracted talks between the two collapsed.
According to the OIO, Borders sought to strike a deal to sell all the issued shares in Borders Australia and Borders New Zealand to Spine Newco. Borders operates four bookstores in New Zealand.
"Borders will be issued a convertible note by Whitcoulls which will convert after 60 days into 40 per cent of the issued capital," the OIO said. "At the time of conversion, Spine Newco will have become wholly owned subsidiaries of Whitcoulls, which operates the Whitcoulls and Angus & Robertson bookstores, Calendar Club speciality calendar stores and the Supanews news agencies in Australia.
"The proposed transaction will not result in a divestment by A&R Whitcoulls of its existing business but rather a merger of the existing Borders and Whitcoulls businesses."
A New Zealand company was cleared to buy 40 per cent of Great Northern Developments from AMP Capital Investors. APEREF II already held 60 per cent of the company, which is a special-purpose vehicle formed to develop the Lion Brewery site in Newmarket.
NZ Poultry Enterprises, 38 per cent Australian owned, was cleared to buy NZ Poultry Holdings, which owns 155ha of land in Auckland, Taranaki, Otaki and Christchurch. The price of the deal was censored.
Also suppressed was the price paid by Australian entities to to buy retirement business Qualcare Group.
Three Macquarie funds and a company, Retirement Care, were the applicants. The OIO said the business had bought 10 separate aged-care businesses since July 2005.
HOW MUCH?
9 per cent drop in applications from foreigners in the past two years:
* Year to March 31, 2006: 277 applications
* Year to March 31, 2007: 280 applications
* Year to March 31, 2008: 252 applications
