During 2024, the mill undertook a significant investment, spending $128 million upgrading equipment and technology to increase production capacity from 150,000 to 200,000 tonnes of finished goods packaging.<\/p>\n
According to the company\u2019s financial statements, shareholders have injected almost $90m of new equity plus more than $64.8m in loans to support the business.<\/p>\n
Jurway\u2019s only asset is a loan receivable of \u20ac37.19m ($73.56m), according to North Data, an online platform offering company information.<\/p>\n
Whakat\u0101ne Mill was on the brink of closure before a consortium of investors stepped in with a lifeline in May 2021, saving around 200 jobs at the time.<\/p>\n
The consortium was led by London-based Dermot Smurfit and Ross George, a founder of Auckland-based private equity firm Direct Capital, Sir Michael Smurfit\u2019s Bacchantes Ltd and Swiss investor Raymond Alan Dargan, among others.<\/p>\n
Their stakes have since been reduced with the emergence of O\u2019Brien.<\/p>\n
Under the 2021 deal, Power Paperboard acquired Whakat\u0101ne Mill from SIG Euro Holding GMBH for $1 in cash and a $5.96m working capital adjustment.<\/p>\n
Net assets at the time of purchase were ascertained at $119.17m.<\/p>\n
Irish billionaire Denis O\u2019Brien has emerged as a majority shareholder in Whakat\u0101ne Mill. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien is a familiar name in New Zealand business, especially in the media industry.<\/p>\n
He had a long-running rivalry with Sir Anthony O\u2019Reilly that centred on control of Independent News & Media, one of Ireland\u2019s most powerful media groups and an influential shareholder in APN News & Media, the Australian\u2011NZ group that owned the New Zealand Herald, Newstalk ZB and other NZME assets.<\/p>\n
When O\u2019Reilly lost control of INM, O\u2019Brien became the largest shareholder in that company. INM ultimately sold its APN stake in 2015.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien remains involved in several business sectors, including as the founder and long-time chairman of Digicel Group. His current wealth is estimated at US$3.1 billion ($5.21b), according to Forbes\u2019 real-time wealth tracker.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Smurfit brothers have significant experience in the paper and packaging sector. Sir Michael expanded the family business into a multinational giant now known as Smurfit Kappa following a recent merger with Kappa Packaging.<\/p>\n
Dermot\u2019s path has been more of a specialist investor and operator, focusing on individual paper and pulp mills, including reviving the Cosmopolis dissolving\u2011pulp mill in the US.<\/p>\n
Whakat\u0101ne Mill last year refinanced $85m of banking facilities with the BNZ and said in its annual accounts that it was forecasting an improved financial performance despite continued challenging trading conditions.<\/p>\n
BusinessDesk reported<\/a> the parent company remained reliant on its shareholders for financial support and that it noted material uncertainty following sizeable multi-year net losses amid rising energy costs.<\/p>\n Power Paperboard reported an operating loss of $28.6m in 2025, which was an improvement on the $38.6m loss recorded in 2024. The overall net loss last year was $27m, compared with $31.2m in 2024.<\/p>\n The company said in its 2025 annual report that the market remained challenging, but it had received strong support from its lender and shareholders.<\/p>\n \u201cForecasts to October 31, 2026, indicate improved performance and compliance with lending facilities,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n Whakat\u0101ne Mill chief executive Ron Hooper was unavailable to be interviewed on the mill\u2019s progress and the ownership.<\/p>\n Duncan Bridgeman is the managing editor of NZME Business News, overseeing the Business Herald<\/a> and BusinessDesk<\/a>.<\/p>\n