Firm kept the 'jewels' - Deane

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Fletcher Building was "the crown jewels" in the conglomerate when other parts of Fletcher Challenge were split off and sold in 2001, its outgoing chairman, Rod Deane, says.

Dr Deane was reflecting on his 16 years as a director – 11 of those as chairman – at Fletcher Building, which has steadily climbed to become the New Zealand sharemarket's largest company by market capitalisation, from 17th when it was listed in 2001.

He will step down at the end of March and former managing director Ralph Waters will become chairman.

Dr Deane said the board went through a year of analysis in 2000 to determine which of the four companies should be sold.

In 2001, Fletcher Energy was sold to Shell for a 65 per cent premium over its market price on the day before the announcement to sell. The pulp and paper business was sold to Norske Skog at an 80 per cent premium.

The sales helped restore some of the value lost in Fletcher Challenge in the previous decade, Dr Deane said.