New Zealand's Airwork Group will delist from the New Zealand Stock Exchange after Rifa Jair Company, a subsidiary of China's Zhejiang Rifa Holding, acquired full ownership of the company.

According to an NZX disclosure, the full takeover by Rifa was a formality after the company had accumulated 75% of shares earlier this year, purchasing them at NZD5.40 (USD3.70) per share. In September, the new owner has crossed the 90% threshold by purchasing further shares for NZD5.20 per share, thus getting the right to automatically acquire the remaining shares.

Trading of Airwork NZ's shares on the New Zealand Stock Exchange has been suspended as of November 10, even though shareholders have until November 24 to accept Rifa's offer. The new owner does not intend to change Airwork's board or management.

Airwork Holdings is a cargo, MRO, leasing and charter specialist. The group consists of Airwork NZ (Auckland International), Heli Holdings Ltd, Airwork Flight Operations (AWK, Auckland International), and Inflite Charters (Auckland International). Rifa intends to grow Airwork's MRO business in emerging markets, including Asia and Latin America. It also plans to grow Airwork's helicopter leasing presence in China through the potential dispatch of existing Airwork helicopters to the region and the acquisition of new helicopters.