Port of Tauranga spends $34M on log marshaling business

Port of Tauranga spends $34M on log marshaling business

Dec. 12 (BusinessDesk) - Port of Tauranga, the country's biggest export port, will spend $34 million on Mount Maunganui-based log marshalling and scaling business Quality Marshalling.

The deal will take effect from February next year and immediately add to the port's earnings, the company said in a statement. Quality Marshalling had revenue of $18 million in the 2012 year, and is privately owned by local forestry businessman Ken Holmes.

"We look forward to working together to growth the company for the benefit of our customers," chief executive Mark Cairns said. "Quality Marshalling is a very well-run company with excellent growth prospects."

The deal comes a month after Port of Tauranga had to sell its 50 percent stake in stevedoring and marshalling business C3 to Australia's Asciano for $70 million. The Australian rail freight and ports operator exercised its right to buy out the port’s holding.

The port's shares decreased 0.4 percent to $13.05 in trading today, and have climbed 31 percent this year.

Holmes bundled several companies into Quality Marshalling in April this year, in an amalgamation with Kopuriki Log Transfer, Fibre Recovery, Sawmill Services and M&CG Transport, according to documents lodged with the Companies Office.

At the time of the amalgamation, Holmes signed a director's certificate stating that "although the proportion of the claims of creditors of the amalgamated company in relation to the value of the assets of the amalgamated company will be greater than the proportion of the claims of creditors of Quality Marshalling (Mount Maunganui) Limited in relation to the value of assets of Quality Marshalling (Mount Maunganui) Limited, no creditor will be prejudiced by this fact."

(BusinessDesk)

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