Andrew Grenfell and William Black of McGrathNicol were today appointed Receivers and Managers (“Receivers”) of GEON Group New Zealand Ltd (“GEON”) and related New Zealand entities by a secured creditor.

The appointment occurred after the Directors of GEON appointed voluntary administrators. Control of GEON’s businesses and assets now rests with the Receivers.

Messrs Grenfell and Black said the Receivers were working swiftly to stabilise GEON’s operations and assess each of its business units while concurrently running an accelerated sale process for GEON’s business and assets.

”We have begun the process of stabilising GEON’s operations with the support of key stakeholders, including GEON equity holders KKR and Allegro. This will facilitate a thorough assessment of each of GEON’s business units’ financial position,” they said.

The Receivers have also already commenced a sale process for GEON’s businesses and assets and have received an Expression of Interest from one party and held discussions with others.

Messrs Grenfell and Black said the Receivers were liaising with employees, unions, customers and suppliers to ensure minimal disruption to operations.

About McGrathNicol:

McGrathNicol is an independent advisory firm specialising in Corporate Advisory, Forensic, Transaction Services and Corporate Recovery. We are a market leader in Australia and New Zealand, with more than 30 Partners and 300 people across the region.

Our firm was founded by a group of Partners and staff from Big 4 accounting firms who believed a high quality boutique firm could thrive when freed of audit independence constraints. Since then, McGrathNicol has grown strongly. We have earned a reputation for achieving innovative, high quality results by providing technical excellence, responsive advice and sound execution capability.

Kerryn Downey and William Black  of McGrathNicol, the receivers for South Canterbury Finance, have announced today that shareholders of Dairy holdings Ltd, have bought shares owned by collapsed South Canterbury Finance. Read the full story here. in the New Zealand Herald.

South Canterbury Finance receivers William Black and Kerryn Downey of McGrathNicol have confirmed the $44million sale of their stake within Scales Corporation.

The receivers sold their 79.7 per cent shareholding in Scales Corporation to Direct Capital Investments – another New Zealand investment company.

The completion of this transaction comes just one week following the confirmation of the sale of Helicopters New Zealand to Canadian Helicopters for $154million. Receiver Kerryn Downey says that the sale of their Scales Corporation stake is a “very positive outcome for the company, its shareholders and us as receivers”.

Click here to read the full article on nzherald.co.nz

Kerryn Downey and William Black of McGrathNicol, as receivers of the SCF Group are pleased to announce that a conditional agreement has been entered into for the sale of the business and assets of its wholly owned investment company Helicopters (N.Z.) Limited (“HNZ”), to international helicopter operator Canadian Helicopters Limited (“CHL”).

HNZ is a leading provider of helicopter services and operates in New Zealand, Australia, South East Asia and Antarctica. HNZ was founded in 1955 with one helicopter and has grown significantly, now operating a fleet of 37 helicopters.

CHL is the largest helicopter transportation services company operating in Canada and is also one of the largest in the world based on the size of its fleet. With over 35 base locations across Canada, CHL provides helicopter services to a broad range of sectors, including infrastructure maintenance, utilities, oil and gas, mining, forestry, construction and emergency medical services and provides military support. With over 60 years of experience, CHL is an industry leader in establishing safety standards and operating procedures. CHL is a public corporation trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).

CHL was selected through a competitive sale process that commenced following HNZ’s shareholder, SCF, being placed into receivership in late August 2010. The sale price is approximately NZ$160 million. The sale is subject to a number of conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to complete in the coming months.

Kerryn Downey commented “This announcement is the culmination of a significant amount of work by the company and our advisors. This has been a very robust process and we are very pleased to have identified such a credible purchaser and achieved what we believe is a good price for the business”.

“Helicopters New Zealand has grown from a local NZ based company to an internationally respected operator involved in all aspects of helicopter operations. We welcome the opportunity to continue to maintain our high level of quality services and continue to grow and enhance our business for all stakeholders, including our clients and staff in the future with Canadian Helicopters” said HNZ’s CEO Brian McDonald.

“We are very pleased with the acquisition of HNZ”, said Don Wall, President and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Helicopters. “HNZ has excellent people and a very strong brand particularly with respect to safe operations, and will be a significant part of CHL’s growth plan as we look to the future. Like CHL, HNZ operates in challenging environments and positions itself as providing “excellence in the extremes”. We look forward to supporting the employees in New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere in the region in continuing to provide “best in class” service.”

Goldman Sachs & Partners New Zealand Limited acted as financial advisor to the receivers of the SCF Group.
Ends

For media enquiries: Kate Alexander, Alexander Communications 09 524 4957 / 027 244 6094

The Weekend Herald spoke with Lowndes Associates consultant Mike Whale and William Black, partner at McGrathNicol about the current situation that Whitcoulls and Borders New Zealand find themselves in.

Lowndes Associates consultant Mike Whale said it was  hard to tell if the REDgroup administration would be a success.

Both Black and Whale said voluntary administrations had had limited success in New Zealand.

At Alexander Communications we hope they make it. Borders has been a favourite of many of us in the team for years and Whitcoulls is part of the fabric of New Zealand Society.

Strange days…

Click here for a link to the online version of the Weekend Herald article by Tamsyn Parker