Final Court Approval Received

Final Court Approval Received

AUCKLAND, 16 March 2001 – The High Court in Auckland today issued Final Orders in relation to the Fletcher Challenge separation. The Final Orders sanction the separation of the remaining three Fletcher Challenge Divisions, Energy, Building and Forests, as laid out in the Initial Orders of January 30, and allow the remaining actions to be taken to achieve completion by March 23. One effect of the separation is the end of the Fletcher Challenge Group.

“This is the final legal step in the long and complex process of separation” said Roderick Deane, Chairman of Fletcher Challenge. “It allows us to complete the remaining separation tasks, ready for the effective date, next week. This will bring to an end a long period of uncertainty for both our employees and our shareholders, and will enable the newly-independent businesses to get down to the task of creating and delivering value for their shareholders,” he said.

Fletcher Challenge embarked on the separation process in December 1999, and the outcomes of the process are:
* Sale of the Paper Division to Norske Skog in July 2000
* Sale of the Energy Division to Shell and Apache
* Separation of Fletcher Building as a stand-alone, renamed company
* Launch of the new company, Rubicon
* An independent listed company, Fletcher Challenge Forests

The Effective Date for separation is 23 March 2001.

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