Shanghai Pengxin's application to buy the Crafar farms is to go all the way to the Supreme Court after a deep pocketed mystery benefactor stepped forward to bankroll King Country iwi Ngati Rereahu's challenge.
Two Ngati Rereahu trusts who wanted to purchase two of the Crafar farms which lie on ancestral land were part of a consortium led by Sir Michael Fay which was outbid by Shanghai Pengxin for all sixteen properties.
The consortium challenged the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) and Government approval for Shanghai Pengxin's purchase in the High Court and more recently in the Court of Appeal which last month dismissed the consortium's argument the Chinese company lacked the necessary business acumen to run the farms.
Tiroa E and Te Hape B trusts interim chairman Hardie Peni today confirmed the trusts' legal counsel had filed papers with the Supreme Court yesterday.
He said the intention was to again challenge the OIO and minister's ruling around Shanghai Pengxin's business acumen.