New Zealand Carpet Retailer May Go Public

Auckland, New Zealand, November 12, 2007--One of New Zealand's largest carpet retailers could be opened up to public ownership following its majority purchase by a local boutique private equity player, according to the New Zealand Herald.

Carpet Court, which has 61 stores throughout the country, has come under the majority ownership of Lincoln Capital Partners.

LCP director Rodney Martin said he had spent the past three years acquiring individual Carpet Court businesses and now owned 32 stores, as well as seven other carpet and flooring stores.

Martin, whose business specializes in mergers and acquisitions, said: "We're re-examining the current business to move it from a co-operative to a franchise operation with the possibility of a float on the long-term time horizon." LCP owns 56 per cent of the business. Martin must get 75% shareholder approval to convert to a franchise model for which a vote will be held in the next 30 days.

Martin said he was still looking at further opportunities in the sector and expected to add more Carpet Court and independent stores to the network with the aim of controlling about 50 per cent of the total carpet retailing market.

He put the combined revenue of the 61 stores and seven other retailers to be worth in excess of $185 million.