The Overseas Investment Office (OIO) has granted consent for United States company Cabo Ltd to buy 2269ha of sensitive land, valued at $8,358,908, at Wyuna Station, near Glenorchy.
Cabo Ltd is a private company owned by a group of Auckland-based and US shareholders and has also been granted a sensitive land consent for the acquisition of a mortgage, or possible freeholding, over 87ha of land at the Wyuna Preserve, to be used in a luxury subdivision.
The subdivision is part of the 3237ha station, a sheep, cattle and deer farm on the hills to the east of the Glenorchy-Queenstown road near the Glenorchy airfield, overlooking Lake Wakatipu.
Cabo Ltd already owns 60 % of the high-country station in a joint venture with Pisidia Holdings Ltd and will buy the remaining 40 % stake in the station from Pisidia - owned by Arrowtown property developer and architect John Darby.
Cabo Ltd director Tom Tusher also owns the neighbouring luxury lodge Blanket Bay.
According to the OIO summary the joint venture is being restructured to "more closely reflect the relative financial interests of the joint venture partners in the property".
The restructure would result in the joint venture limiting its activities to the Wyuna Preserve subdivision and ceasing to own and operate Wyuna Station, which would be taken over by Cabo Ltd.
Cabo Ltd seeks consent to acquire an interest as mortgagee over the Wyuna Preserve land to secure a loan for a term of 10 years; and to acquire Pisidia Holding Ltd's 40% share in Wyuna Station.
The overseas investment transaction has satisfied the criteria set out in section 16 of the Overseas Investment Act 2005.
