The report said the vendors were Amaca, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Medical Research and Compensation Foundation and Studorp, a subsidiary of James Hardie. Multiplex managing director and chief executive officer Andrew Roberts last month foreshadowed future acquisition opportunities, saying the group would focus on increasing the portfolio's weighting in the retail and industrial sectors. Multiplex, which was Australia's largest privately owned construction group, listed on the Australian Stock Exchange last December with an offer comprising a stapled structure of one unit in the Multiplex Property Trust and one share in Multiplex Ltd. Last month the group posted a net profit for the six months to December 31, 2003 of $3.464 million and said it was on track to deliver a full year profit of $80.8 million. Multiplex shares were up five cents to $3.67 and James Hardie shares were up two cents to $6.74.