Fletcher sells NZR stake for $34 million

By Phil Boeyen, ShareChat Business News Editor

Friday 20th October 2000

Fletcher Challenge's new company, Rubicon, is to get $34 million from the sale of the company's stake in New Zealand Refining.

Under Fletcher's restructuring plan announced last week Rubicon was to have taken over the 14.3% interest in NZR along with a number of other assets including $20 million in cash and the Challenge! service stations.

Fletcher spokesperson Ginny Radford says now Rubicon will get the cash from the sale instead. She says the NZR holding, which had been built up over a long period, is being sold for just under market valuation. The buyer is a private New Zealand-based investment company, Emerald Capital.

Fletcher CEO Michael Andrews says the NZ Refining shareholding is a non-core asset for Fletcher Challenge Energy, and the sale generates cash that Rubicon will use to assist the restructuring process."

"Rubicon's commitment to Fletcher Challenge Forests to acquire the division's biotechnology and South American forestry assets, and also the role Rubicon will play in the underwriting of the rights issue recently announced for Fletcher Challenge Forests, will be key uses of this cash."

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