Orangewood has 25 local growers as long-term shareholders, 75% of whom must approve the proposed sale at a meeting on October 1.
The directors of Seeka and Orangewood have unanimously recommended the transaction.
Chair Brad Davies says the packhouse does 2.1m trays annually and the business employs about 70 full-time people, plus shorter-term workers at harvest.
The throughput was about 40% of the Bay of Islands kiwifruit crop.
Orangewood shareholders are offered 0.6630 new Seeka shares and $1.35 in cash for every Orangewood share and there are 964,000 issued shares in total.
At an issue price of $5.33, the offer values each Orangewood share at $4.88, which Davies says was comparable to the asset value in the balance sheet.
Seeka is paying $6.55m in total because it is assuming approximately $1.84m of debt.
“The amalgamation of Orangewood and Seeka makes sense from every perspective,” Davies said.
“We need capital investment and Seeka has available processing capacity and a proven track record of delivering competitive returns to its growers and stakeholders.”
