PGG Wrightson sells Heartland stake for $11.3 million to reduce debt

PGG Wrightson sells Heartland stake for $11.3 million to reduce debt
By Tina Morrison Aug. 30 (BusinessDesk) – PGG Wrightson, the rural services company controlled by China’s Agria Corp, sold its stake in Heartland New Zealand for $11.3 million to reduce debt. Christchurch-based Wrightson sold 13.18 million shares in Heartland, the parent of the country’s newest bank, through a brokerage yesterday at 84 cents a share, a 3.4 percent discount to the 87 cent share price Heartland was trading at immediately prior to the sale. Wrightson acquired the stake as part of the sale of its finance arm to Heartland. “It w...