Foley Family Wines, majority owned by American businessman and vineyard owner Bill Foley, plans to make an all-scrip $1.9 million takeover offer for pinot noir pioneer Martinborough Vineyard Estates and has already secured agreements to buy 41 percent of the company. Marlborough-based Foley Family Wines is offering one Foley share for every 27.95 shares in Martinborough Vineyard, it said in …

Transport fuels distributor and retailer Z Energy’s success in raising margins on petrol and diesel sales is under pressure and are “likely to trend toward the industry’s lower net margin,” says Deutsche Bank analyst Grant Swanepoel in a research note on yesterday’s full year result from Z. The Wellington-based company, which took over the refining, distribution and retail operations of …

The government’s lagging tax-take got a boost in March as later than expected filing of 2013 company tax returns bolstered the contribution from corporate taxpayers, allowing Finance Minister Bill English to confirm next week’s Budget will project a return to surplus. The Crown’s operating balance before gains and losses (obegal) was a deficit $1.66 billion in the nine months ended …