There is a new player in the game. Wool Services International Limited, the county’s biggest wool  processor and exporter has a new bidder.

The New Zealand Wool Investment Company Limited, Wool Co, is planning to raise the $40 million needed to buy WS,I from farmers and other wool industry investors by the end of October.

Wool Co is a newly-formed joint venture between farmer-owned Wool Equities and Christchurch based investment bank Ocean Partners.

The bid presents a challenge to a takeover bid by Cavalier Wool Holdings which has Commerce Commission approval to buy WSI Ltd, creating a monopoly in the scouring business.

Wool Co Chairman Cliff Heath says that competition at the scours is vital in order to maintain the processing costs charged to farmers and to ensure the future viability of New Zealand wool.