Fletcher Nets Formica

NZ manufacturing company Fletcher Building has bought the iconic Formica Corporation for US $700 million. Fletcher Building already owned the rights to Formica products in Australia and NZ – chief executive Jonathan Ling said the latest acquisition would help create “a truly global laminates platform.” Formica Corporation, maker of the famous eponymous laminate as well as other surfacing products, was rescued from bankruptcy by two private equity firms in 2004. The company was founded in the United States by engineers Daniel O’Conor and Herbert Faber in 1913.