Bluebridge’s new owners eye growth
Cook Strait ferry service Bluebridge and trucking company Freight Lines have been sold to a group of investors for an undisclosed sum.
Strait Shipping, which operates Bluebridge, and Freight Lines – both founded by transport industry legend Jim Barker – have been bought by funds managed by Champ Private Equity Group.
Freight-forwarding business Streamline is also part of the deal; however, the Barker family will retain ownership of Bulklines and Stocklines.
Strait Shipping managing director and Barker family spokesperson Sheryl Ellison said the sale represented the end of an era for the family and a positive future for the businesses.
‘‘We are extremely proud of these three leading New Zealand transport businesses and we are excited about their future under a new growth focused ownership.’’
Ellison’s father, Jim Barker, had been closely involved in the sale process up until his death in August.
‘‘It was Dad’s vision that these businesses would continue to thrive, grow and lead New Zealand’s transport industry into the future and we’re confident this sale will ensure this.’’
Champ group managing director Cameron Buchanan said he was excited about the acquisition and potential the three companies offered. that
‘‘We’re committed to building on the strong foundations the Barker family has created and growing these businesses for the benefit of not only investors but also the wider New Zealand freight and passenger transport markets.’’
Strait Shipping has been moving freight between the North and South islands since 1992 and diversified into the passenger market with the launch of the Bluebridge service in 2003.
New Zealand Shipping Federation executive director Annabel Young said Strait Shipping was established by Jim Barker after realising the need for a second ferry service during the strikes from the late 1980s and early 1990s.
When Barker launched Strait Shipping, it was the only competitor to the Interislander ferries – and still is to this day.
‘‘Mr Barker made the most spectacular difference to New Zealand’s shipping industry,’’ Young said.
‘‘We can’t say enough about the family and the impact of the decisions they made in the 1980s.’’
Trade Me sells sites
TradeMe has sold accommodation website Travelbug and online booking engine BookIt to Hamiltonbased Travel Booking Services 2016 (TBS) for an undisclosed price. The company was a limited partnership with investors that include the founders of the successful Torpedo7 and 1-day e-commerce businesses. Trade Me chief executive Jon Macdonald said on Monday that the sale was the best option for Trade Me and its customers. ‘‘It’s difficult for us to justify prioritising time and money for Travelbug and BookIt given the other opportunities we have across Trade Me. The TBS team have considerable experience in largescale ecommerce businesses, and we wish them all the best.’’
No-checkout supermarket
Amazon has opened a bricks-andmortar grocery store in the US without lines or checkout counters, kicking off new competition with supermarket chains. Amazon Go, the online shopping company’s new 167sqm Seattle store, uses sensors to detect what items shoppers have picked off the shelves and sends a bill to their Amazon accounts if they do not replace them. Analyst Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research said the venture could potentially pose a huge threat to supermarket chains. If tests are successful, Amazon plans to open more than 2000 grocery stores, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
No money? Here’s a BMW
Prestige carmaker BMW will pay back A$72 million (NZ$75m) to ordinary Australian car buyers who were misled into believing they could afford one of the luxury German vehicles. The massive consumer payback – perhaps Australia’s largest ever – will also see the Munich-based company’s finance arm paying A$5m into a ‘‘community benefit fund’’ to help provide financial literacy education. It was revealed in August that the company was giving big loans to people with zero or even negative disposable incomes while the company’s most reckless salesmen were rewarded with bonuses. The company will write off A$50m in loans that it should never have made, will make A$14.6m in direct payments to people who were ripped off or misled, and grant A$7.5m in interest rate reductions on current loan contracts. The payback programme is understood to identify at least 15,000 customers who suffered hardship when borrowing to buy the European marque between January 2011 and August 2016.
Viagra prices triple in US
Soaring prices in the United States for prescription medicines for impotence and other problems have put the remedies out of reach for some – especially older men and women. Without insurance coverage, Viagra and Cialis now cost about US$50 (NZ$70) a pill, triple their 2010 list prices. The new ‘‘female Viagra’’, a daily pill for low sex drive called Addyi, costs US$800 per month. ‘‘Once you get to a certain price point, sex becomes a financial decision,’’ says Dr Elizabeth Kavaler, a sexual dysfunction specialist at New York’s Lenox Hill Hospital. ‘‘It takes a lot of the joy out of this.’’ However, prices are expected to fall when rival products reach the market next year. Kavaler said couples in their 50s, 60s and 70s were ‘‘more sexual than they’ve ever been’’.