Fletcher weighs up takeover ban ruling

The $3.6 billion listed building materials manufacturer and distributor, Fletcher Building, is pondering its options after the Commerce Commission's ruling against its proposed takeover of one of Auckland's largest concrete operations.

Fletcher Building chief executive Ralph Waters said the firm was "considering its position". The firm had received a full copy of the ruling only last week and many parts had been blanked out as they were confidential.

Fletcher infrastructure chief Mark Binns said his firm was in discussions with lawyer Peter Hinton, a partner at Simpson Grierson, but had not yet decided whether to mount a challenge. "We're getting our lawyers to have a look at it," he said.

In June, subsidiary Fletcher Concrete and Infrastructure sought commission clearance to buy the building products division of Stevenson Building Products, which has a large share of the city's construction market.

But on September 15, the commission rejected the deal, saying it feared cement prices would rise even further if the sale was cleared. It said New Zealanders already paid the second-highest price in the world for cement, just behind Mexico. To allow the deal to go ahead would substantially lessen competition in this key market sector.