Receivers hope for $150m from Sth Canty assets

Photo / Sarah Ivey

South Canterbury Finance receivers are turning to the sale of two other multimillion-dollar assets after selling Helicopters NZ for $160 million.

In a bid to claw back back the $1.7 billion the Government has paid to investors in the Timaru-based finance company, Kerryn Downey and William Black of McGrathNicol are now faced with selling one of New Zealand's largest dairy farming entities and a shipping, trading, apple, cold storage and transport business which together could fetch about $150 million.

Dairy Holdings, also with headquarters in Timaru, and Christchurch-based Scales Corporation are next on the list of the "good bank" up for sale after the successful Helicopters deal to Canada achieved more than expected.

Downey was in Christchurch yesterday, the city he fled after the February 22 quake when he was working in Scales' Montreal St headquarters.

Yesterday, it was announced that Canadian Helicopters Group - the country's biggest chopper services company - would buy Allan Hubbard's Helicopters NZ, beating the value put on the business when it was tipped into South Canterbury Finance in Hubbard's failed rescue attempt.

The helicopter deal is the first since South Canterbury Finance went into receivership, prompting a call on the Government's deposit guarantee scheme.

Downey said the sale was the culmination of a significant amount of work which had resulted in "what we believe is a good price for the business".

Martin Wight, head of Macquarie Capital Advisors in Auckland, represented the Canadians on the South Canterbury Finance deal, his second major victory in the past few weeks.

He was also on the team of the successful $1.3 billion Fletcher Building takeover of Australia's Crane Group.

Jonathan Ling, Fletcher chief executive, paid tribute to Wight's involvement, saying he played a crucial role in a complex transaction as a key member of the international team.

Downey yesterday thanked his advisers on the helicopter deal.

Now the team is looking to sell the South Island dairy business, which owns 58 farms with 14,201ha, milking 43,439 cows to produce 15.1 million kg of milk solids.

Dairy Holdings says 62.5 per cent of shareholders - including the stake controlled by the South Canterbury Finance receivers and United States shareholders - appointed Murray & Co and First NZ Capital to run a joint sales process.

The Scales group consists of Cashreal Properties, Geo. H. Scales, Liqueo Bulk Storage, Meateor Foods, Mr Apple New Zealand, Polarcold Stores, Scales Logistics, Selacs Insurance, Silverstream Industrial Park, Whakatu Coldstores and Whakatu Property Management.

South Canterbury Finance bought the dairy business from Hubbard for $75.7 million, a price later revealed to be too high.

ONE DOWN, TWO TO GO

South Canterbury Finance asset sales:

SOLD

* Helicopters NZ: Sold to Canadians for $160 million.

FOR SALE

* Dairy Holdings: Large dairy farmer, might be worth $75 million.

* 62.5pc of Scales Corporation: Food exporter and shipper, worth about $72 million.