China’s state-owned Bright Food Group has provided a letter of comfort to Silver Fern Farms that it will vote its 38 percent stake in Shanghai Maling Aquarius in favour of acquiring 50 percent of New Zealand’s biggest meat company. Some 82.2 percent of votes were cast in favour of the transaction at a SFF shareholder meeting in Dunedin today, comfortably exceeding the 50 percent …

Shareholders of Silver Fern Farms have voted in favour of a proposal to sell 50 percent of New Zealand’s biggest meat company to Shanghai Maling Aquarius after the unit of China’s state-owned Bright Food Group offered $261 million of cash, a special dividend and money to bankroll the cooperative for seven years. Some 82.2 percent of votes were cast in favour of the transaction, …

Silver Fern Farms could be kept in cooperative ownership for as little as $25,000 per farmer and the meat company’s board would be irresponsible not to consider a “plan B” if it fails to garner support for its proposal to sell half the business to Shanghai Maling Aquarius, says an opponent of the deal. SFF shareholder John Cochrane this week circulated an …

Steel & Tube Holdings, New Zealand’s biggest steel distribution company, has continued its drive to grow through acquisitions, buying Aquaduct NZ out of receivership for about $8 million cash. Aquaduct was put into receivership in April after defaulting on its debt facilities with Westpac New Zealand, which was owed $4.97 million, according to a report by BDO’s Stephen Tubbs. Steel & …

Auckland International Airport, the country”s biggest gateway, says it”s optimistic about demand from China, its fastest-growing source of passengers, even after weak manufacturing data sparked a global selloff in stocks and raised questions about growth in that economy. Passenger numbers from China soared 41 percent to 545,494 in the airport company”s latest year, while capacity on routes to China rose 38 …

The New Zealand dollar fell after China devalued the yuan, stoking concern economic growth is weaker than expected in the nation’s biggest trading partner. The kiwi traded at 65.52 US cents as at 5pm in Wellington, down from 66.10 cents late yesterday. The currency rose to 4.1396 yuan from 4.1033 yuan. China is the biggest two-way trading partner with New Zealand and the second-largest export market …

The New Zealand dollar gained after Fonterra slashed its milk payout forecast as expected while offering interest-free loans and a slightly improved dividend to its farmers to soften the blow. The kiwi rose to 65.52 US cents as at 5pm in Wellington, from 65.43 cents before the Fonterra statement and from 65.42 cents late yesterday. The trade-weighted index advanced to 70 from 69.83. Fonterra cut …

A draft of part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal leaked to the Politico website suggests the US is demanding increased protections for pharmaceutical companies, restricting access to the lower-cost generic versions of drugs that agencies such as New Zealand’s Pharmac buy. The draft copy of the intellectual property chapter of the trade agreement as it stood on May 11, before the Guam negotiating …

Fonterra Cooperative Group, which is looking to cut hundreds of jobs as part of a review aimed at stripping costs out of its business, says it has begun talks with workers in administrative roles such as finance, legal and information services. The world’s largest dairy exporter has hired business management consultant McKinsey & Co to assist in a review of its …

Kathmandu has urged shareholders to take no action on a full takeover offer from Briscoe Group pending the board’s response and has retained Goldman Sachs as an adviser.  Briscoe, the homewares and sports good retailer, yesterday offered 89.7 million of its own shares and $32.3 million cash for the 80.1 percent of the outdoor equipment and clothing chain it doesn’t already own. The …