Seeka Kiwifruit Industries has spent nearly $25 million spending spree in Australia.The NZX-listed Te Puke company announced on Wednesday it was buying Australian company Bunbartha Fruit Packers for A$22m (NZ$24.8m). The acquisition will make Seeka Australia’s largest kiwifruit grower, a position it already holds in New Zealand. Bunbartha owners Jamie Craig and John Karl will remain with the business. The acquisition was expected to settle on August 20 subject to approval from the the Foreign Investment Review Board. Seeka chief executive Michael Franks said the purchase included 505 hectares of land in Shepparton, Victoria. About 240ha of that was orchard land, including 95ha of kiwifruit, with pears, plums, apricots and cherries on the remainder, he said.”The purchase will be made without a crop, with the first harvest of cherries to start in November 2015,” Franks said. There was potential to expand the orchard area over time, he said. Seeka expected the purchase to be profitable in the 2016 financial year, Franks said.
source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/70864902/seeka-buys-aussie-kiwifruit-company-for-25-million
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