E-Malt.com News article: New Zealand: Lion Nathan to build new NZ brewery

Lion Nathan says it has received Overseas Investment Office consent to buy 16.7 hectares of freehold land in South Auckland to build a $NZ250 million brewery, NZPA posted December 20th.

The land will be the site of a new manufacturing and warehousing facility for the New Zealand arm of the Tasmanian boutique brewer J Boag & Son.

Works will begin in January at the industrial site in East Tamaki.

Lion Nathan also said it had been cleared by the Australian competition watchdog to buy Boag from Philippines-based San Miquel Corp for $A325 million ($NZ373 million).

The Sydney-based company, in which Japanese brewery Kirin Holdings has a 46.1 per cent stake, said today it had secured the site – subject to approval by the Overseas Investment Office.

The new Auckland facility was expected to be up and running in about four years, Lion said.

In July, Lion announced it had entered into an agreement to sell its Auckland brewery site in Newmarket, nowadays a swanky upmarket area of the city, to AMP Capital Investors for $162m.

Most of the sale price will be payable when Lion leaves the site in about four years, but $50m will be realised this financial year.

The new manufacturing and warehousing facility would better align production and its supply chain with market demand.


27 December, 2007