A consortium trying to buy the Crafar farms against competition from a Chinese buyer has taken legal action.
The Crafar Farms Purchase Group includes iwi and farming interests and is headed by businessman Sir Michael Fay.
On Tuesday morning, it filed a writ in the High Court and will begin proceedings on Thursday.
The consortium is seeking disclosure of recommendations by the Overseas Investment Office to government ministers regarding a Chinese bid for the 16 North Island farms in receivership.
Receivers KordaMentha have set a deadline until the end of January for the Shanghai Pengxin Group to go unconditional with its $200 million-plus bid.
KordaMentha have rejected the Crafar Farms Purchase Group's $171.5 million bid for the farms.
The consortium is seeking a judicial review of the Overseas Investment Office's recommendations, saying the process is not transparent.
The consortium believes its bid is in danger of being scuttled if the Government makes a decision in favour of the sale to Shanghai Pengxin Group without the reasons being disclosed.
