New share offer from irrigator
‘‘We see water as everything.’’
Heidi Seifried-Houghton, Seifried Estate
Water shares are for sale in Waimea dam joint-venture partner Waimea Irrigators Ltd.
The offer, for 2375 shares at $6325 each, is contained in the company’s product disclosure statement (PDS), dated June 14.
Initial water shares in Waimea Irrigators Ltd (WIL) were in 2018 offered for $5500 each.
The first 2000 shares in the latest PDS are being offered by Century Water Ltd, which pumped $11 million into WIL via the purchase of 2000 convertible notes to help bridge a funding shortfall in the dam project.
Century Water is an investor vehicle formed in 2018 by a group of businesses based on the Waimea Plains.
WIL chairman Murray King said the purpose of the offer was to allow Century Water to convert its 2000 convertible notes into water shares and sell them to repay its investors. Under the offer, another 375 water shares would then be offered by WIL.
Available for irrigators on the Waimea Plains to consider, the offer is due to close on September 30.
King said the drought in Tasman district last summer provided more reason for irrigators ‘‘to invest in the future of their business with a secure water supply’’. He described Century Water as ‘‘a significant commitment by family businesses that have been around for generations and wanted to see the dam through to fruition for the benefit of their businesses and the economic prosperity of the region’’.
Heidi Seifried-Houghton, of Seifried Estate, a Century Water shareholder, said the family wanted to play its part in protecting the future of horticulture on the Waimea Plains.
‘‘We see water as everything. Weather patterns are increasingly extreme, and are only going to become more so. Our investment in the dam is about securing water for the future.
‘‘Over the past four decades, we have expanded and invested in grape-growing land across the Tasman region, and we need to ensure the viability of these blocks into the future through a reliable, secure water supply.’’
The PDS says a non-refundable application fee of $100 per water share is payable, while the initial revised estimate of annual charges is $650 per water share, payable following the completion and commissioning of the dam.
WIL is joint-venture partner with the Tasman District Council in Waimea Water Ltd, which is to manage the construction, operation and maintenance of the dam in the Lee Valley. Waimea Water is a council-controlled organisation.
Set to be about 53 metres high, 220m long and 6m wide at the crest, and constructed of approximately 430,000 cubic metres of rock, the physical dam is scheduled to be completed by October 2021. This will be followed by the filling of the reservoir, with the final commissioning due by February 2022.