NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business

Last bids due in on Tenon sale

By PAM GRAHAM
5 Dec, 2004 07:48 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article

The sale of Tenon's sawmills in the centre of the North Island is at a critical point, with last bids and a Commerce Commission decision due.

At stake for the private equity firms and trade buyers competing in the process are Tenon's sawmill in Kawerau, the Rainbow Mountain sawmill near Rotorua, a plywood mill at Mt Maunganui and the Ramsey Roundwood business, which makes posts and landscaping products.

Carter Holt Harvey is seen as the buyer that can extract the most synergies and, therefore, the one that should pay up. But it is not known if it will.

The commission decision on whether it can buy all Tenon's structural timber assets - they are being sold in one line - is due today, but it is not seen as a deal-breaker.

Analysts said the area of concern for competition is the domestic supply of plywood, because a purchase would give Carter Holt about 75 per cent of the market.

Carter Holt argued in its application to the commission that the market was open to imports.

If Carter Holt gets the thumbs down from the commission it could agree to divest the plywood part of the business.

Carter Holt's strategy is to be the No 1 supplier in its chosen product areas in the Australian and New Zealand domestic markets and it has been quietly achieving that with small purchases in both markets during the past decade.

Grant Samuel valued the mills at between $123 million and $144 million, but Tenon's main shareholder, Rubicon, claims that new equipment at the Kawerau sawmill will increase earnings by $5 million a year. This could add $40 million to the sale price.

No bidders have publicly confirmed they are in the sale process, but speculation has centred on Carter Holt and Australian private equity firms Pacific Equity Partners and Gresham.

The sale process started after Tenon, the rebranded Fletcher Challenge Forests, received approaches for the assets.

A sale leaves Tenon as a listed company owning just a Taupo sawmill and mouldings plant that process appearance grade lumber, together with investments in North American distribution networks that supply some of the biggest do-it-yourself chains in America.

Its majority shareholder, Rubicon, is also listed, with 90 per cent of its assets invested in Tenon.

ON THE BLOCK

* Four timber entities are for sale.

* No bidders have confirmed they are in the sales process.

* Carter Holt Harvey is seen as the company best able to extract new synergies.

* New equipment at the Kawerau sawmill could add another $40 million to a sales price put at between $123 million and $144 million.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save
    Share this article

Latest from Business

Premium
Airlines

Kiwi victims of Qantas cyber attack can lodge complaint in NZ, expert says

Premium
Property

Contrasting sites: New supermarket opens next to abandoned car lot

Business

Intel posts $12.9b revenue, cuts 15% of workforce for agility


Sponsored

Sponsored: More cash, less stress - a lending strategy for investors

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Recommended for you

Elation as Whanganui gets voice in fast-track seabed mining decision
Whanganui Chronicle

Elation as Whanganui gets voice in fast-track seabed mining decision

Minister criticises Meta for 'outrageous' drug listings on Marketplace
New Zealand

Minister criticises Meta for 'outrageous' drug listings on Marketplace

Uber is testing a women-only driver service in US, here’s how it works
World

Uber is testing a women-only driver service in US, here’s how it works

Trump signs order to block 'woke AI' in federal contracts
World

Trump signs order to block 'woke AI' in federal contracts

US regulators approve contentious $8b Skydance-Paramount merger
World

US regulators approve contentious $8b Skydance-Paramount merger

Afternoon quiz: What is the largest bone in the human skull?
New Zealand

Afternoon quiz: What is the largest bone in the human skull?



Latest from Business

Premium
Premium
Kiwi victims of Qantas cyber attack can lodge complaint in NZ, expert says
Airlines

Kiwi victims of Qantas cyber attack can lodge complaint in NZ, expert says

An NZ lawyer says affected people in this country can still take action against Qantas.

25 Jul 03:03 AM
Premium
Premium
Contrasting sites: New supermarket opens next to abandoned car lot
Property

Contrasting sites: New supermarket opens next to abandoned car lot

25 Jul 01:00 AM
Intel posts $12.9b revenue, cuts 15% of workforce for agility
Business

Intel posts $12.9b revenue, cuts 15% of workforce for agility

24 Jul 11:01 PM


Sponsored: More cash, less stress - a lending strategy for investors
Sponsored

Sponsored: More cash, less stress - a lending strategy for investors

22 Jul 07:56 AM

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search