Australia's Pacific Equity eyes Tenon's sawmills

After snaffling up bookseller Whitcoulls and Guardian Healthcare, Australian investment firm Pacific Equity Partners is looking at Tenon's structural sawmills and plywood plants.

It is tipped to be seeking preferred bidder status in the sales process.

Asked about an interest in the Tenon assets, one of PEP's managing directors, Simon Pillar, said yesterday: "I can't confirm or deny on that one."

Pillar confirmed that the firm was looking at deals in New Zealand.

It has about A$500 million ($554 million) available for investment in Australia and New Zealand.

Private equity firms such as PEP invest in businesses across a wide range of sectors, trying to improve them and then exit at a profit, often via sharemarket floats.

Final bids are yet to be made for the Tenon - formerly Fletcher Challenge Forests - assets.

Trade buyers including Carter Holt Harvey and a number of private equity firms are believed to have made indicative bids.

In April, PEP bought Australian and New Zealand bookselling businesses including Angus & Robertson and Whitcoulls for $136 million.

PEP this week sealed the takeover of the unlisted Guardian Healthcare for $110 million via a $1.95-a-share offer that put the enterprise value of the company - the combination of equity and debt - at $176.2million.

That compares with an independent report's estimate of a fair market value of $147 million to $159 million - or $1.44 to $1.65 a share.

Wellington-based Guardian's core business is owning and managing 25 rest home and hospital facilities in Auckland and around the country with about 1700 beds. It also develops and runs retirement villages and offers home-based care services, especially medical alarms.

Founder and managing director David Renwick said: "The takeover represents a springboard, as far as we're concerned, to selectively acquire within the industry."