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Rank and file for sale

The Rank Group is considering the sale of its timber products business in what would be the latest in a string of disposals by the industrial conglomerate controlled by Graeme Hart, New Zealand’s richest man. Source: The Financial Times

Rank, the holding company owned by Mr Hart, has hired bankers to sell Carter Holt Harvey Wood Products, which operates timber mills and wood merchants across Australia and New Zealand, according to people familiar with the matter.

The sale of CHH is at an early stage and it is unclear what price Rank is seeking for the company.

Rank paid US$2.7bn for CHH in 2006 before embarking on a restructuring that involved selling off large parts of its forest portfolio and other property assets.

The sale process comes as Mr Hart is shedding large parts of his portfolio.

Last week, the Financial Times reported that the billionaire had appointed banks to sell two packaging businesses, expected to fetch a combined value of over US$4bn.

He is also selling SIG, his largest packaging company, and is rumoured to be selling part of his auto maintenance business.

Mr Hart has a reputation as a deft investor and has built up a conglomerate spanning construction, paper and autos through a series of leveraged buyouts.

The disposals come at a time of heightened deal making across most sectors. The M&A markets have boomed during the first nine months of the year as companies look to take advantage of the availability of cheap debt and rising investor appetite for deals.