New Plymouth council quitting Tasmanian dairy

The Van Diemen's Land Company (VDL) in Tasmania, owned by the New Plymouth District Council, is talking to potential investors, as confirmed by VDL governor Keith Sutton.

"VDL is dealing with a number of parties looking to invest in the company," he told Dairy News. "VDL expects an outcome to be announced well before Christmas."

The farms are owned through New Plymouth council's Perpetual Investment Fund (PIF), which gradually increased its ownership in the farms to a majority holding over a number of years.

The council's PIF was created from the $259m sale of the council's shares in lines company Powerco in 2004.

Established in 1825, VDL is located in the picturesque northwest of Tasmania, where it owns and operates 25 dairy farms, a dairy support unit and a standalone heifer rearing operation. Including replacements VDL runs about 30,000 dairy livestock.

VDL is one of Australia's oldest companies, established in London in 1824 by 11 men closely connected with the English wool trade and textile industry.

VDL became part of the New Zealand publicly listed company Tasman Agriculture Ltd in 1993. This went into voluntary liquidation on October 31, 2001, following a restructuring of its New Zealand Farms, and its shareholders received one share in Tasman Farms Ltd for every share held in TasAg by way of an in-specie distribution.

In June 2004 VDL bought all the shares in Tasman Farmdale Ltd, which owned land in the Circular Head region of northwest Tasmania.

Tasman Farms Ltd, an NZ company, is the majority shareholder in VDL, owning 98.42% of shares on issue.

In late 2007 the New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) bid to buy Tasman Farms Ltd. In February 2008 this bid was finalised, the NPDC buying 74.33% of Tasman Farms Ltd. NPDC has since increased its shareholding to 100%.