Metropolitan founders shatter glass ceiling

Metropolitan's John Bedogni and wife Kenda own an Old West theme town. Picture / Kirsty Head

Three Auckland businessmen are sharing a windfall of around $350 million after they sold Metropolitan Glass, the glass manufacturer they founded just over 20 years ago.

Andrew Smith, of Remuera, John Bedogni, of Howick, both 57, and Cameron Gregory, 42, of Eastern Beach, clinched the deal with the Australian buyout firm Catalyst Investment Managers at the start of this month.

The three men, with their families, each appear to have around a third share in the business, worth about $116 million, according to Companies Office records.

Smith is an art collector and driving force behind community artwork funder Auckland City Sculpture Trust.

Bedogni, with his wife Kenda, owns Mellonsfolly, an Old West theme town and ranch in the central North Island.

The price has been greeted with surprise from financial market observers, who say the buyers may be underestimating the effects of the economic slowdown and over-estimating the potential of the business.

Smith said he had sold his shares with mixed feelings.

"It's been very much a team effort. It has been our life for the last 20 years. It is more than the money."

Smith started Metropolitan Glass with Bedogni in 1987, but they were joined by Gregory two months later.

From a factory in East Tamaki it has expanded to the North Shore, Tauranga and Wellington. It produces double-glazed, toughened, heat-tempered and a range of laminated glasses and is an expert in processing and cutting.

Smith will remain on the board. Catalyst has also invited him to reinvest in the business, but he had yet to decide his future.

"It is a time of big change," he said.

Gregory will remain managing director, at least for the moment.

He said: "A good result has been achieved. I am still focused on the business and I have an obligation to fulfil."

He declined to discuss the sale any further.

Bedogni, who stepped away from day-to-day involvement in the business for three years, said his decision was a private matter.

Catalyst is understood to have beaten a number of other buyers to the punch, including listed building products group Fletcher Building. But Fletcher Building's outgoing chief executive, Ralph Waters, said he was not disappointed by the loss.

"If that was the price we would not have been in the race by many, many millions," he said.

Catalyst dismissed criticism of the price. The company said it had bought into a very strong business with a strong management team.

It believes Metropolitan will benefit from trends such as the push towards energy-efficient buildings and consolidation in the glass industry.

The deal is the latest in a raft of sales to such buyout firms, which typically raise money from retail investors and often invest it in controlling stakes in private companies.

The funds generate high returns by matching their investments in shares with large borrowings and active management of the businesses in which they invest. Firms sold to these funds include Hirepool, Griffins and Tegel.