New Zealand company buys Texas firm

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- A New Zealand wood products company has bought a Texas millwork distributor as it expands into the United States.

Tenon Ltd. said Friday it paid $16 million for a 51-percent interest in Southwest Moulding Co. of Dallas, which makes and sells stairway parts and exterior doorframes, the Wellington Dominion Post reported.

The purchase was made through Tenon's Empire Co. unit, which the New Zealand company bought in September.

Southwest's current owners have a two-year option to sell the remaining 49 percent to Empire from July 2007.

The acquisition is part of Tenon's growing focus on U.S. markets.