Fletcher Challenge
Encyclopedia
Fletcher Challenge is a now defunct multinational corporation
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...

 from New Zealand, formed in 1981 by the merger of Fletcher Holdings, Challenge Corporation and Tasman Pulp and Paper. It was formerly the largest company in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, with holdings in construction, forestry, building, and energy, initially within New Zealand and then internationally.

History

The corporation was formed in January 1981 with the mutual merger of Challenge Corporation, Fletcher Holdings and Tasman Pulp and Paper. It was initially based in Wellington's Challenge House, but later moved in 1987 to a new head office in Penrose, Auckland.

In 1987 the corporation acquired the State-owned enterprise Petrocorp
Petrocorp
Petrocorp, formally the Petroleum Corporation of New Zealand Limited, is a former New Zealand State-Owned Enterprise that was formed in 1978...

, and created the Fletcher Energy division. Fletcher Energy's assets were subsequently sold to Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...

 New Zealand.

In November 1993 Fletcher Challenge's share market listing was split into two shares, the Ordinary Division and Forests Division. The Forests Division consisted of the corporation's wood plantation assets and forestry activities. The Ordinary Division consisted of the corporations pulp and paper, energy and building assets.

In March 1996 the Ordinary Division was split further by creating three new shares - Fletcher Challenge Paper, Fletcher Challenge Building and Fletcher Challenge Energy. This structure lasted three years, until December 1999 when the Board of Directors of the company resolved to dismantle the Fletcher Challenge and establish separate companies.

In 2000 the Canadian pulp and paper assets were sold to Norske Skog
Norske Skog
Norske Skogindustrier ASA or Norske Skog, which translates as Norwegian Forest Industries, is a Norwegian pulp and paper company based in Oslo, Norway and established in 1962...

 to form NorskeCanada. In 2001 Fletcher Challenge was split into three companies, Fletcher Challenge Forests (later renamed Tenon
Tenon Limited
Tenon Limited is a New Zealand based publicly traded company producing timber products. It was formerly known as Fletcher Forests which was split from the Fletcher Challenge group...

), Fletcher Building
Fletcher Building
Fletcher Building Limited is currently the largest listed company in New Zealand, having recently overtaken Telecom New Zealand, with a market capitalisation of over NZ$4.5 billion...

 (incorporating Fletcher Construction
Fletcher Construction
Fletcher Construction Limited is a leading New Zealand construction company. It is owned by Fletcher Building Limited and has three main divisions:*Building and interiors *South Pacific...

), and Rubicon (New Zealand).

Battle of the Titans

The rise and fall of Fletcher Challenge and some of the principal personalities involved, including Hugh Fletcher
Hugh Fletcher
Hugh Fletcher is a New Zealand businessman and former Chancellor of the University of Auckland.-Early life:Hugh was the second son born to Sir James Fletcher and Vaughan, Lady Fletcher....

 and Sir Ronald Trotter is described in the book Battle of the Titans by Bruce Wallace.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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