Fletcher wants all of Amatek

The speculation is over: Fletcher Building will hang on to all of the businesses within CVC Amatek if it pulls off a $500 million to $600 million deal to buy the Australian building products company.

That would increase Fletcher Building's annual revenue - already on track to top $4 billion this financial year - by another $700 million to $800 million.

Talking to the Business Herald last night, chief executive Ralph Waters rejected analysts' speculation the company might want only one part of the business, insulation manufacturer Insulation Solutions.

That is important because it means the scale of the intended buy is finally clear.

Fletcher Building has a market capitalisation of $2.9 billion - the total value of all of the shares on issue - and manufactures and sells building industry materials in in New Zealand and Australia.

Amatek is owned by CVC Capital Partners, and its products and operations include insulation, concrete pipes, roofing and quarries.

Waters said all were complementary to Fletcher Building.

"We're already in every one of the businesses that are for sale."

He could "never say never" to asset sales in the long term, but if Fletcher Building and Amatek completed a deal, "we have made no agreements with anybody to sell any of the assets".

He was commenting after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission yesterday said it had no objections to the acquisition of Insulation Solutions by Fletcher Building.

Waters said a "make or break" hurdle had been jumped "but there's still a lot of other hurdles to get over" to complete an acquisition.

"On big transactions, there's always difficulties. We will try to bring it to a conclusion in the next few weeks - one way or another."

Insulation Solutions makes insulation products from glass wool and reflective foil.

The acquisition of Insulation Solutions would leave Fletcher Building with one main competitor in the sector in Australia - CSR.

The ACCC said a purchase by Fletcher Building was unlikely to substantially lessen competition because consumers could import glass wool - imposing a natural constraint on a domestic operator.

The Amatek group also includes Rocla, which makes concrete pipes, and Stramit, a manufacturer of roll-formed steel building products.

Fletcher Building has spent $1 billion on acquisitions across the Tasman since 2002.

Amatek was the source of wallboard manufacturer Laminex, bought for $754 million in 2002 - meaning the deal now proposed would be Fletcher Building's second bite at the company.

Fletcher Building went on to do the deal known as "Laminex Lite" - the $260 million purchase of Tasman Building Products - in 2003.