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Graeme Hart
Graeme Richard Hart (born 1955) is a New Zealand billionaire businessman and is among the country's richest persons. As of June 2024, his net worth was estimated at NZD$12.1 billion. He was the first New Zealander to be worth NZD$10 billion, topping the NBR Rich List for 20 years.
Much like other leveraged buyout (LBO) private equity investors, Hart has a preference for buying underperforming and undervalued companies with steady cash flows which can be turned around through better cash management, cost-cutting and restructuring with other businesses. Since his 2006 purchase of Carter Holt Harvey he has focused his acquisitions on the paper packaging sector. His largest acquisition to-date was for Alcoa's Packaging & Consumer group in 2008 for US$2.7 billion, later renamed Reynolds Packaging Group. He does not directly manage his businesses, and is focused mostly on the financing related to re-capitalization of the companies.
Forbes stated that Hart was the 274th richest person in the world as of March 2022. In 2022, Hart was inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame.
The son of a radiographer, Hart attended Mount Roskill Grammar School in Auckland. After leaving school at 15, he worked as a tow-truck driver and as a panel beater before starting his first business at the age of 18 with the help of a loan from his father.
In 1987, Hart completed an MBA from the University of Otago. His research thesis, as part of the MBA, outlined his strategy to grow Rank Group Limited, at the time a small "party hire" company servicing the greater Auckland area by integrating multiple acquired companies.
Hart gained a big break when he purchased the Government Printing Office for less than its capital value in 1990. The purchase was 1.4x earnings and Hart was provided generous payment terms. Then New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange initially refused to sign off on the transaction.[citation needed] The following year he bought Whitcoulls Group, which at that time included a retail chain of bookstores as well as office and stationery concerns. Within two years of the acquisition, Whitcoulls controlled 40% of the book and stationery market in New Zealand. He has since sold off these interests.
Rank Group Ltd is Hart's private investment company. It was the 100% owner of Reynolds Consumer Products until a public share offer in 2020, and is the owner of Burns Philp and Carter Holt Harvey. Rank had assets of approximately NZ$3 billion in cash after selling the assets of Burns Philp and floating Goodman Fielder in 2004.
In December 2006 he agreed to purchase International Paper's drinks packaging business Evergreen Packaging for NZ$725 million. In May 2007 he bought Swiss packaging company SIG for NZ$3.2 billion. The SIG division Combibloc is the second largest food and drink carton packaging company in the world after Swedish giant Tetra Laval. In August 2007 Hart completed his US$450 million purchase of US paper packaging company Blue Ridge Paper Products of North Carolina which he intends to merge with Evergreen Packaging of Arkansas. These acquisitions make Rank Group the world's second biggest company in the paper products business.
Graeme Hart
Graeme Richard Hart (born 1955) is a New Zealand billionaire businessman and is among the country's richest persons. As of June 2024, his net worth was estimated at NZD$12.1 billion. He was the first New Zealander to be worth NZD$10 billion, topping the NBR Rich List for 20 years.
Much like other leveraged buyout (LBO) private equity investors, Hart has a preference for buying underperforming and undervalued companies with steady cash flows which can be turned around through better cash management, cost-cutting and restructuring with other businesses. Since his 2006 purchase of Carter Holt Harvey he has focused his acquisitions on the paper packaging sector. His largest acquisition to-date was for Alcoa's Packaging & Consumer group in 2008 for US$2.7 billion, later renamed Reynolds Packaging Group. He does not directly manage his businesses, and is focused mostly on the financing related to re-capitalization of the companies.
Forbes stated that Hart was the 274th richest person in the world as of March 2022. In 2022, Hart was inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame.
The son of a radiographer, Hart attended Mount Roskill Grammar School in Auckland. After leaving school at 15, he worked as a tow-truck driver and as a panel beater before starting his first business at the age of 18 with the help of a loan from his father.
In 1987, Hart completed an MBA from the University of Otago. His research thesis, as part of the MBA, outlined his strategy to grow Rank Group Limited, at the time a small "party hire" company servicing the greater Auckland area by integrating multiple acquired companies.
Hart gained a big break when he purchased the Government Printing Office for less than its capital value in 1990. The purchase was 1.4x earnings and Hart was provided generous payment terms. Then New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange initially refused to sign off on the transaction.[citation needed] The following year he bought Whitcoulls Group, which at that time included a retail chain of bookstores as well as office and stationery concerns. Within two years of the acquisition, Whitcoulls controlled 40% of the book and stationery market in New Zealand. He has since sold off these interests.
Rank Group Ltd is Hart's private investment company. It was the 100% owner of Reynolds Consumer Products until a public share offer in 2020, and is the owner of Burns Philp and Carter Holt Harvey. Rank had assets of approximately NZ$3 billion in cash after selling the assets of Burns Philp and floating Goodman Fielder in 2004.
In December 2006 he agreed to purchase International Paper's drinks packaging business Evergreen Packaging for NZ$725 million. In May 2007 he bought Swiss packaging company SIG for NZ$3.2 billion. The SIG division Combibloc is the second largest food and drink carton packaging company in the world after Swedish giant Tetra Laval. In August 2007 Hart completed his US$450 million purchase of US paper packaging company Blue Ridge Paper Products of North Carolina which he intends to merge with Evergreen Packaging of Arkansas. These acquisitions make Rank Group the world's second biggest company in the paper products business.