Carter Holt Harvey, owned by Kiwi billionaire Graeme Hart's Rank Group, has shelved plans for an initial public offering of shares in its Carters building supplies business, citing uncertainty in equity markets.
"While the Carters business continued to perform strongly, benefitting from the robust New Zealand construction environment, the ongoing uncertainty in global equity markets had led CHH to review the merits of a listing at this time," it said in a statement issued through a public relations firm.
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Last month, Carter Holt pared back its IPO plans to include only the Carters distribution unit in New Zealand, while the parent intended to retain a "significant stake" in the company. It had previously indicated there would be an IPO covering its New Zealand and Australian timber processing and building supplies businesses.
Rank paid $3.31 billion for Carter Holt in 2006 and has since sold the company's forestry and farm land and its pulp and paper unit, leaving a smaller business focused on wood products and building supplies.
