ArborGen has entered into an agreement to acquire the Edendale Nursery business in Southland, New Zealand. Source: Lesprom
ArborGen begins production at the nursery on April 1, 2014, and will be responsible for sales in the 2014 season onwards.
The Edendale Nursery is a well-established nursery growing seedlings for large corporate forest owners, forest managers, consultants and farm foresters in Southland and Otago regions, with the capacity to produce up to 10 million seedlings annually.
“This acquisition now enables ArborGen to supply customers throughout the North and South Islands of New Zealand.
“Edendale’s customers will now also be able to benefit from the extensive investments ArborGen has made to develop seedlings with superior genetics for planting in New Zealand’s forests.
“We look forward to working with forest owners in Southland and Otago, assisting them to add additional value to their estates, and continuing Edendale’s proud tradition in the region,” said Greg Mann, general manager of ArborGen’s Australasian operations.
The nursery’s land will be leased from the current owners with ArborGen holding a land purchase option.
Approval for the transaction has been received from the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office.
ArborGen is the largest supplier of seedlings in New Zealand and sells up to 25 million trees annually, predominately in the North Island.
In New Zealand the company currently owns five production nurseries, two seed orchards, and a manufacturing facility for the production of high value Radiata Varietal seedlings.
