Rt Hon Winston Peters
Member of Parliament for Northland
New Zealand First Leader
10 NOVEMER 2015

Silver Fern Farms the Heist of the Century - Peters

Farmers have been sold down the river with Silver Fern Farms posting an operating profit of $86.9 million, up 28% on last year, not long after farmers were forced to sell their co-op to a Chinese SOE.

“Silver Fern Farms is the corporate heist of the century,” says New Zealand First Leader and Member of Parliament for Northland Rt Hon Winston Peters.

“It transpires that the Chinese are only paying $57m for half of the company as Otago University’s Dr Rob Hamlin has noted. This much touted $261m figure is a separate investment with SFF Ltd - the new Chinese-controlled entity - to do with as they see fit.

“The Overseas Investment Office must now look closely at Goldman Sachs’ highly creative design of this deal. The Companies Office ought to be looking at what shareholders were told because much of this will be news to them.

“Serious questions must also be asked of its board, given this profit result comes three weeks after shareholders voted with their recommendation to sell. And just what is this $7m for directors’ fees and related governance costs into the future?

“National spun the company was in trouble but what this profit shows is that the company was railroaded into selling and the government couldn’t care less,” says Mr Peters.

ENDS

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