Fletcher Building Limited (NZSE:FBU) reportedly has sent out sale documents to prospective buyers for a sale of its residential development business, say sources. Working on the sale is investment bank Jarden and first-round offers are due before Christmas. Parties approached are likely to be similar groups that considered a purchase of the Lendlease residential communities business, sold to Stockland in 2024 for about $1 billion.
Groups such as Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, Thai investor Supalai, Japan's Daiwa House, Lendlease, Blackstone and Invesco have likely been sent an information memorandum. Fletcher Building had previously confirmed a strategic review of its residential and development unit was underway, as it also reviewed sale options for its construction arm. Earlier, sources believed a capital partnership or joint venture for its development land could net Fletcher Building about $500 million.
While Fletcher Building primarily operates in the building materials market in Australia, selling products such as Laminex surfaces, Iplex piping systems and Stramit roofing, in New Zealand it operates as a residential developer as well as a building supplies company. The move to place the business on the market comes with calls by investors and analysts by Fletchers to simplify the business after it swung to a NZD 419 million ($364 million) loss for the 2025 financial year. Analysts had earlier valued its New Zealand development land bank at about NZD 1 billion.
A sale would further reduce the group's NZD 999 million of net debt, which was down from NZD 1.77 billion in June 2024, after the group carried out an emergency $642 million equity raising late last year.
