Tasmanian businessman Rob Woolley says his company TasFoods isn’t involved in a new bid for Australia’s biggest dairy, the Van Dieman’s Land Company (VDL)
Businesswoman Jan Cameron, the founder of Kathmandu Outdoor, has announced plans to underwrite a rival bid for VDL, which has provisionally been sold Chinese businessman Lu Xianfeng's company Moon Lake Investments.
The $280 million binding offer to buy the dairy company is subject to approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), which is expected to make a decision this month.
Mr Woolley said Ms Cameron was a friend, and called him as a courtesy, to tell him she was planning to announce the bid.
“I didn’t get any detail and I didn’t ask for any,” Mr Woolley said. “TasFoods itself is not involved and not likely to be involved, as an investor.”
He said the company was currently concentrating on Meander Valley Dairy, which had been “a great little company for us” and was also looking at announcing other opportunities in the food sector, possibly before Easter.
“We just keeping working at it, if we can’t make those acquisitions, we have a couple of projects we are building from the ground up,” Mr Woolley said.
Tasmanian independent Denison MP Andrew Wilkie said pressure was building on the Federal Government, over the sale of VDL.
Independent cross benchers, Nick Xenophon (SA), John Madigan (Vic), Jacquie Lambie (Tas) and Glenn Lazarus (Qld) have joined Mr Wilkie, in opposing the sale.
The Greens have also referred the proposed sale to a Senate committee
Tasmanian Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said the committee would seek submissions and details from a range of stakeholders around potential concerns.
Mr Wilkie said it was scandalous the Federal Government had agreed to the sale, to Moon Lake.
He said the 30,000 cow farm, on Tasmania’s north-west coast, covered an area of 20,000 hectares, over 25 farms.
Mr Wilkie said while the matter would not be decided by Parliament, the support of the cross benchers should ring alarm bells for the government.
“I do hold out hope that political pressure is building, it won’t be lost on the government, that half the Senate cross bench don’t like it,” Mr Wilkie said.
“If the government is tuned into public sentiment, they would need to pay increasing attention to this.”
Mr Wilkie said the FIRB should reject the sale, on the same grounds as the Kidman property.
“I would argue VDL is in the same league as Kidman, and for some of the same reasons – it’s such a big asset and genuinely of strategic importance to the country.
“That VDL is owned currently by New Zealanders and that it is a Chinese investor seeking to purchase it are entirely irrelevant,” he said.
“The fact is this is a commercial asset of strategic proportions and it would be irresponsible in the extreme for the Government to miss this opportunity to bring VDL into Australian ownership.”
And Senator Xenophon has called for foreign takeover laws to be changed, to consider credible alternative local bids before a foreign takeover can be approved.
Senator Xenophon was critical of the current process involving foreign takeovers.
“The lack of transparency in the current process is a shocker,” he said.
Senator Xenophon said he would be working with his crossbench colleagues to move urgent amendments to the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act, to ensure the FIRB and the Treasurer must take into account any local alternative bids.
“It would be a monumental act of folly to approve this bid when there is an Australian-based bid to consider,” Senator Xenophon said.
“Whilst the alternative bid is focused on jobs and economic opportunity for Tasmania, the icing on the cake has to be its environmental and indigenous credentials as well,” he said.
Mr Woolley said he didn’t know whether the political play would affect the outcome of the sale.
“I thought they made some very valid points about how investments, in key pieces of property, land and assest should be dealt with, in addition to the present rules,” Mr Woolley said.
He stressed he was not an expert, but felt the New Zealand model had a lot to recommend it by.
In New Zealand, local bids for land were given preference; he said Australia should extend that to include water.
Greens finance spokesman Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said the party supported socially and environmentally sustainable investment, that secured local jobs and delivered economic benefits to the Tasmanian community.
“Concerns over food security and shortages of supply, foreign workers displacing local jobs and other strategic concerns such as any loss of intellectual property should always be thoroughly examined by the FIRB process,” Senator Whish-Wilson said.
“It is no secret we are now in an election year, and Senator Xenophon is launching his new political party in Tasmania. It would be a shame for Tasmania, if populist politicking got in the way of good policy and process,” he said.
Tasmanian dairy company TasFoods has sought damages, after its bid to buy VDL was overturned by parent company Taranaki Investment Managment Limited (TIML).
On November 6, last year, TIML announced TasFoods would buy the company for $250 million. It later said Moon Lake Investment, an Australian company set up for Chinese businessman Lu Xianfeng, had been chosen as the preferred buyer, in a $280 million deal.
Mr Lu said he intended working with the existing management of the Tasmanian dairy assets to seek continued gains in productivity, while continuing to supply milk to Tasmanian milk processors.
Moon Lake was also interested in partnering with Australian investors in the business or in joint ventures and would consider approaches for up to a 40% shareholding by Australian investors in VDL.
The sole owner of Moon Lake Investments is Mr Lu Xianfeng, is also the managing director and executive chairman of ASX listed Kresta Holdings Limited, Australia’s biggest window covering retailer.
Mr Lu is also the founder and largest shareholder of Ningbo Xianfeng New Material Co. Ltd (APLUS), a company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, China, with a market capitalisation of approximately A$1.52 billion. I
The Tasfoods Victorian Supreme Court trial, for damages, is expected to begin on February 22.
