Failed Van Diemen’s Land Company buy bid settled for $1.25m

THE Tasmanian company behind a failed push to buy a VDL dairy farm in the state’s far North-West will receive a settlement worth $1.25 million.

Field day at the Tasmanian Dairy Demonstration Farm, The Gums at Woolnorth, cattle try to stay dry

THE Tasmanian company behind a failed push to buy a Van Diemen’s Land (VDL) dairy farm in the state’s far North-West will receive a settlement worth $1.25 million from the company’s New Zealand owners.

TasFoods chairman Rob Woolley told the Sunday Tasmanian the company was now free to move on to other projects.

“I felt being in a protracted legal argument was not where we wanted to be,” he said.

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“We haven’t changed our position as to what we thought our rights were.

“But the situation we were facing was a long court battle and the thing was becoming increasingly difficult.”

TasFoods had signed an agreement on November 6 to buy Australia’s biggest milk producer, the Van Diemen’s Land Company, from New Plymouth District Council.

However, the owners decided not to sell to TasFoods after receiving a bid from what was at the time a mystery foreign buyer, prompting the legal action on an accusation of a breach of contract.

The case had been set to go to trial in the Supreme Court in Melbourne next month.

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Mr Woolley said company strategy was to build an integrated business based on premium foods, primarily from Tasmania.

“We have four opportunities that we are looking at — they are not all in the dairy space,” he said.

Chinese company Moon Lake Investments is trying to buy the property but still needs Foreign Investment Review Board approval.

VDL is Australia’s largest and oldest dairy company, but has never been Australian owned.