AUSTRALIAN appliance maker Email is boosting its assault on the New Zealand market by buying 50 per cent of Amalgamated Finance, New Zealand's second-largest lender in household appliance financing. No price was disclosed for the stake, which was bought from Philips New Zealand. The other 50 per cent of Amalgamated Finance is held by UDC Finance, a subsidiary of the Australia & New Zealand Bank. The stake was purchased through Email's New Zealand subsidiary, Simpson Appliances (NZ). Email said the purchase was part of its ''ongoing quest to wrest market share'' from its major New Zealand competitor, Fisher & Paykel Industries. Email group chief executive Don McNeill said the move was aimed at independent retailers who did not wish to be bound to Fisher & Paykel, which ties chains and single outlets to exclusive franchise agreements. Earlier this year, Email signed an agreement with New Zealand's Bond chain to sell appliances under the Atlas, Simpson and Westinghouse brands in four outlets in Christchurch. The outlets previously had an exclusive franchise agreement restricting them to stock and sell products made by Fisher & Paykel. Email said restrictive trade agreements were an issue it has unsuccessfully fought in New Zealand courts. ''Despite this, Simpson Appliances has built up market share to 25 per cent in the past four year by giving New Zealanders a wider choice of household appliances under the Simpson, Atlas and Westinghouse brands,'' Mr McNeill said. ''The trend of New Zealand household appliance retailers severing previous ties in order to offer customers a wider range of products through Simpson Appliances has continued in recent months,'' he said. Fisher and Paykell corporate affairs manager Richard Blundell said Email's claims of 25 per cent of the New Zealand market were exaggerated . But he said the company was a formidable competitor. He said total imports of appliances into New Zealand did not exceed 25 per cent of the market, and that also included European brands not marketed by Email.