Seafood firms cleared to buy half of Sealord

By LIBBY MIDDLEBROOK

The Commerce Commission has cleared seafood companies Sanford and Amaltal to jointly acquire a 50 per cent stake in Sealord, the country's largest commercial fishing company.

Sanford and Amaltal applied for commission approval this month, after Brierley Investments said it wanted to sell its 50 per cent Sealord stake, estimated to be worth more than $200 million.

Commission chair John Belgrave said yesterday that the commission was satisfied the companies would not acquire or strengthen a dominant position in any New Zealand market should the Sealord acquisition go ahead.

The remaining 50 per cent of Sealord is held by the Waitangi Fisheries Commission, which bought its shareholding with cash from commercial fishing claim settlements with the Crown in 1992.

"It's just one step in the process and we're very pleased with the [commission] result," said Sanford chief executive Eric Barratt.

Sanford and Amaltal, a Nelson-based company jointly owned by Talleys and Auckland exporter Amalgamated Marketing, needed commission approval because of domestic competition issues.

While Sealord holds about 23 per cent of the national quota, Sanford has rights to 20 per cent and Amaltal and Talleys jointly hold about 14 per cent.

In an earlier Herald report Mr Barratt said Sanford and Amaltal, which applied for commission clearance through their joint venture company New Zealand Seafood Investments, were confident of gaining approval from the commission because they did not compete with Sealord in the domestic frozen foods industry.

Several New Zealand parties, including iwi, are understood to have made a bid for the shareholding, along with a range of international seafood businesses and investors.

Brierley spokeswoman Anne Hogan said the company, which had had expressions of interest from New Zealand companies as well as international seafood businesses, expected to conclude the sale by June.