Outfitter Buy-Out: A US company in the unlikely state of Alabama has just bought out three major hunting operators in New Zealand - namely, Kiwi Hunting Safaris, Hunt New Zealand Safaris and NZ Hunts. The company is Westervelt Wildlife Services, a division of Gulf States Paper Corporation.
Seems Westervelt Wildlife Services runs Westervelt Lodge, a deer and quail hunting property in Alabama that has been very successful over the years. In fact, it has been so successful attracting hunters (some 15,000 people have hunted there in recent years, representatives tell us) that it has branched out into booking hunts in Africa, Argentina, Canada and Texas. Now, it has decided to get really serious about hunting by buying up existing outfitters and even hunting properties. Its New Zeland buy-out involves the purchase of two lodges and the hiring of 10 guides. They are also negotiating to buy two hunting tracts totaling 36,000 acres. That buy-out is on top of the purchase of a fishing lodge on the Miramichi River in New Brunswick and another impending buy-out in Argentina, which the company was not ready to talk about yet. In all, the company is shooting for the acquisition of 10 major hunting and/or fishing properties worldwide where it can send clients.
Clearly, Westervelt is now a major player in New Zealand Hunting. As this issue goes to press, we have calls into the company to get more details on what they have in mind. See a future issue for more details
New Land Agent: Seems it is not only big corporations that are looking for properties and land-related opportunities in New Zealand. Individual sportsmen are as well, as witness the formal launch of a company called Game Ranch International, which seeks to match individual clients with the right kind of property in New Zealand. The principals in the company are John Angland and Phil........(continued)
