Kerryn Downey and William Black  of McGrathNicol, the receivers for South Canterbury Finance, have announced today that shareholders of Dairy holdings Ltd, have bought shares owned by collapsed South Canterbury Finance. Read the full story here. in the New Zealand Herald.

Kerryn Downey and William Black of McGrathNicol, as receivers of the SCF Group are pleased to announce that a conditional agreement has been entered into for the sale of the business and assets of its wholly owned investment company Helicopters (N.Z.) Limited (“HNZ”), to international helicopter operator Canadian Helicopters Limited (“CHL”).

HNZ is a leading provider of helicopter services and operates in New Zealand, Australia, South East Asia and Antarctica. HNZ was founded in 1955 with one helicopter and has grown significantly, now operating a fleet of 37 helicopters.

CHL is the largest helicopter transportation services company operating in Canada and is also one of the largest in the world based on the size of its fleet. With over 35 base locations across Canada, CHL provides helicopter services to a broad range of sectors, including infrastructure maintenance, utilities, oil and gas, mining, forestry, construction and emergency medical services and provides military support. With over 60 years of experience, CHL is an industry leader in establishing safety standards and operating procedures. CHL is a public corporation trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).

CHL was selected through a competitive sale process that commenced following HNZ’s shareholder, SCF, being placed into receivership in late August 2010. The sale price is approximately NZ$160 million. The sale is subject to a number of conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to complete in the coming months.

Kerryn Downey commented “This announcement is the culmination of a significant amount of work by the company and our advisors. This has been a very robust process and we are very pleased to have identified such a credible purchaser and achieved what we believe is a good price for the business”.

“Helicopters New Zealand has grown from a local NZ based company to an internationally respected operator involved in all aspects of helicopter operations. We welcome the opportunity to continue to maintain our high level of quality services and continue to grow and enhance our business for all stakeholders, including our clients and staff in the future with Canadian Helicopters” said HNZ’s CEO Brian McDonald.

“We are very pleased with the acquisition of HNZ”, said Don Wall, President and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Helicopters. “HNZ has excellent people and a very strong brand particularly with respect to safe operations, and will be a significant part of CHL’s growth plan as we look to the future. Like CHL, HNZ operates in challenging environments and positions itself as providing “excellence in the extremes”. We look forward to supporting the employees in New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere in the region in continuing to provide “best in class” service.”

Goldman Sachs & Partners New Zealand Limited acted as financial advisor to the receivers of the SCF Group.
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For media enquiries: Kate Alexander, Alexander Communications 09 524 4957 / 027 244 6094

Anne Gibson interviewed Kerryn Downey for the Weekend Herald about some of the milestones achieved so far in the South Canterbury Finance Receivership.

You can find the link to the online version of the print story here