Tupu Tonu Joins Consortium In Local Port Infrastructure Bid

Tupu Tonu, the Ngāpuhi Investment Fund, is part of a consortium seeking to take full ownership of both Marsden Maritime Holdings (MMH) and Northport.

Earlier today, a consortium also comprising the Northland Regional Council, and Port of Tauranga publicly announced it had lodged a conditional offer of $108m to buy out the minority shareholders in MMH at a price per share of $5.60.

“Although our excitement is tempered by the conditional offer process, we are pleased we were able to act when this rare opportunity presented itself,” says Tupu Tonu Chair Ben Dalton.

“The bid is an example of the commercial capability of Tupu Tonu to invest in Northland and it should give locals confidence we are serious about potentially securing local assets like the port, for the future, and to ensure ownership remains in the North.”

The intention of the bid is to simplify the ownership structure, combine the assets already partly owned by the Northland Regional Council (53.6% MMH) and Port of Tauranga (50% Northport). The second largest shareholder, Port of Auckland with a 19.9% stake, has agreed to vote in favour of the scheme.

“If the transaction is given the greenlight, we will acquire 7% of the combined MMH and Northport entity at a cost of $27m,” says Dalton.

“This is a critical piece of regional infrastructure in Northland, and the Regional Council has indicated it will make available a further 7% stake, as part of a future Te Tiriti o Waitangi settlement for other hapū and iwi.”

Tupu Tonu was established in 2021 as a Crown-owned company to acquire and grow the value of a portfolio of high-performing commercial assets that may be offered to Ngāpuhi in future treaty negotiations.

Ngāpuhi is the largest iwi in the country with an estimated 185,000 affiliated members. Many attempts have been made to start the settlement process, but it is yet to formally begin.

In the meantime, to pre-empt the settlement and because there are few Crown assets in the North, funds have been set aside to take advantage of investment opportunities and build a portfolio. A portion of annual profits are distributed annually by Tupu Tonu through its Tukua programme.

Tupu Tonu was given $150m and has spent about half by purchasing a range of assets including commercial properties, housing, a carbon forest, agriculture, and solar farm. This transaction would be Tupu Tonu’s most significant investment to date.

“If the offer goes ahead or not, this was an opportunity to strengthen our relationship with key partners and set the standard for Tupu Tonu to work with them again in the future on other infrastructure projects.”

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