Marsden Maritime Holdings would be delisted from the NZX under a proposal from a consortium to buy out minority shareholders.

MMH said it would pay $5.60 per share in cash via a scheme of arrangement, and its board unanimously supported the arrangement.

The scheme still needed the approval of the High Court and MMH shareholders, and regional council (NRC) consultation.

The consortium includes the Northland Regional Council (NRC), Port of Tauranga and Ngāpuhi investment fund Tupu Tonu. The transaction would bring full control of Northport under a single ownership umbrella.

If the deal went through, MMH would gain Port of Tauranga’s interest in Northport, which is 50:50 owned by MMH and Port of Tauranga.

Northport would then become a wholly owned subsidiary of MMH.

MMH would be delisted from the stock exchange and the consortium would hold all shares in MMH, with 50% allocated to Port of Tauranga, 43% to NRC and 7% to Tupu Tonu.

MMH’s second-largest shareholder, Port of Auckland with a 19.9% stake, has agreed to vote in favour of the scheme, as long as the scheme price falls within or above the Independent Adviser’s valuation range.

MMH board chair Benoît Marcenac said the deal was considered as part of substantial work by the board to review the company’s capital funding structure, to ensure delivery of its land use and development strategy.

“The board has been considering a range of options to determine a funding structure that is fit for purpose, secures financial sustainability and future-proofs MMH,” Marcenac said in a market announcement,

“As a key pillar of our strategic roadmap, this has been signalled to all shareholders, including NRC, at annual meetings since 2021.”

MMH shares closed at $3.24 on Monday.

In a separate statement, Port of Tauranga said it had agreed to contribute $39.69 million towards the proposed buyout as part of a capital contribution agreement with its consortium partners.