Earthquake halts merger talks between Otago, Lyttelton ports

Merger talks between the ports of Lyttelton and Otago have been halted as a result of damage caused by the Canterbury earthquake.

In a statement today the two companies said Lyttelton Port Co was not in a position to continue merger negotiations and the two boards had "reluctantly" agreed to halt the talks.

Lyttelton Port suffered significant damage to port infrastructure and facilities, which 
were fully insured.

Given the magnitude and priority of the reinstatement works, it was not possible to continue merger negotiations, the statement said.

Lyttelton Port deputy chairman Bill Luff said the earthquake made it necessary for the company to review its short and long term asset management and development plans.

That review process would take some time, and was now only just beginning, as the focus had been on returning to business as usual and ensuring customer needs were met, Mr Luff said.

"The landscape has changed significantly. Given this situation, it is only fair and prudent to cease the merger negotiations in order to allow the full resources of LPC to focus on both running the port and undertaking the recovery and rebuild project."

 

 

 

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