Ngāpuhi part of group wanting to own Northland’s deep-water port

Ngāpuhi is part of a consortium that wants to take full control of Marsden Maritime Holdings and Northport, the deep-water port at Marsden Pt.

The country’s largest iwi Ngāpuhi is part of a consortium that wants to take full control of Marsden Maritime Holdings and Northport, the deep-water port at Marsden Pt in $108M bid.

Tupu Tonu, the Ngāpuhi Investment Fund, is part of a consortium seeking to take full ownership of both Marsden Maritime Holdings (MMH) and Northport.

On Tuesday, the consortium, also made up of Northland Regional Council (NRC), and Port of Tauranga, announced it had lodged a conditional offer of $108m to buy out the minority shareholders in MMH at a price per share of $5.60.

“Although our excitement is tempered by the conditional offer process, we are pleased we were able to act when this rare opportunity presented itself,” Tupu Tonu chair Ben Dalton said.

“The bid is an example of the commercial capability of Tupu Tonu to invest in Northland and it should give locals confidence we are serious about potentially securing local assets like the port, for the future, and to ensure ownership remains in the North.”

Dalton said the intention of the bid is to simplify the ownership structure, combine the assets already partly owned by the NRC (53.6% of MMH) and Port of Tauranga (50% of Northport). The second largest shareholder, Port of Auckland with a 19.9% stake, has agreed to vote in favour of the scheme.

Chair of Ngāpuhi investment entity Tupu Tonu Ben Dalton.

“If the transaction is given the greenlight, we will acquire 7% of the combined MMH and Northport entity at a cost of $27m,” Dalton said.

“This is a critical piece of regional infrastructure in Northland, and the Regional Council has indicated it will make available a further 7% stake, as part of a future Te Tiriti o Waitangi settlement for other hapū and iwi.”

MMH board chair Benoît Marcenac said the MMH board unanimously supports the scheme and, subject to conditions, recommends that shareholders vote in favour of the offer.

“The board’s primary focus is to secure the best outcome for all shareholders. In signing the SIA, the MMH board has concluded that the scheme, as finally agreed, represents a compelling option for shareholders and an opportunity to unlock value now.”

The arrangement follows a non-binding indicative proposal from the consortium in August 2024, and several months of negotiation and due diligence.

“The consortium sees real value in what we’ve built,” Marcenac said. “It recognises the potential in MMH as a strategic asset and wants to maximise it further.”

Tupu Tonu was established in 2021 as a Crown-owned company to acquire and grow the value of a portfolio of high-performing commercial assets that may be offered to Ngāpuhi in future Treaty negotiations.

Northport, and Marsden Maritime Holdings will be delisted from NZX if a consortium including Ngāpuhi and NRC, buys up all the shares in the companies

Ngāpuhi is the largest iwi in the country with an estimated 185,000 affiliated members. Many attempts have been made to start the Treaty settlement process, but it is yet to formally begin.

In the meantime, to pre-empt the settlement and because there are few Crown assets in the North, funds have been set aside to take advantage of investment opportunities and build a portfolio. A portion of annual profits are distributed annually by Tupu Tonu through its Tukua programme.

Tupu Tonu was given $150m and has spent about half buying a range of assets including commercial properties, housing, a carbon forest, agriculture, and solar farm. This transaction would be Tupu Tonu’s most significant investment to date, Dalton said.

“If the offer goes ahead or not, this was an opportunity to strengthen our relationship with key partners and set the standard for Tupu Tonu to work with them again in the future on other infrastructure projects,” he said.

MMH has more than 150 hectares of prime port and commercial-zoned land available for development immediately behind Northland’s deep-water port.

If the scheme is implemented, the consortium has confirmed that MMH would procure POT’s interest in Northport. The deep-water port is currently 50:50 owned by MMH and POT.

Northport would become a wholly owned subsidiary of MMH, and MMH would be de-listed from the NZ Stock Exchange.

The scheme will only go ahead following successful community consultation by NRC, as well as approval by the High Court and MMH shareholders.