UK buyer raises bid for Trade Me
could pursue after the receivers, McGrathNicol, had carried out their work.
Harris aimed to wind up the liquidation and release its final report by the end of the week.
The most recent liquidator’s report in August showed there were claims of about $2m from secured creditors, $127,000 from preferential creditors and about $281,567 from unsecured creditors.
The receivers’ final report in August revealed secured lender Bank of New Zealand was still owed about $437,236.
Employees and Inland Revenue were paid a total of
$186,000 in July.
Since starting the business in
1999, Moore and the label’s managing director, Brian Molloy, navigated the ups and the downs of building a fashion brand in New Zealand, operating seven stores and closing some, too. Its last store and online website was closed in March.
Molloy was also bankrupted last month.
For privacy reasons the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment was unable to comment on the amount of debt owed by Moore and Molloy. Trade Me looks set to be sold to Apax Partners for $2.56 billion after the British private-equity firm finalised and upped its offer by about $20 million to match an indicative offer from rival US bidder Hellman & Friedman.
Trade Me shareholders will receive $6.45 for each of their shares under the deal, which remains subject to shareholder, court and Overseas Investment Office approval.
The offer represents about a 25 per cent or $500m premium to Trade Me’s share price before Apax’s interest was disclosed.
Trade Me said its board had unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the offer.
‘‘After careful consideration, the board has unanimously concluded that this offer is consistent with our efforts to deliver maximum value for shareholders,’’ chairman David Kirk said in a statement to the New Zealand stock exchange.
‘‘We’re confident Trade Me would have a successful standalone future, but we believe the certainty of the cash offer and material premium would be an attractive outcome and it merits being put to shareholders with our recommendation, in the absence of a superior proposal,’’ he said.
Trade Me expects the deal will go to a shareholder vote in April, if no higher offer emerges.
If a higher offer was made, Apax would have the right to match it, and Trade Me could be obliged to pay Apax a $19.2m ‘‘break fee’’ if it went with a different offer.
A financial market source said the possibility that Trade Me might receive a materially higher offer from a trade buyer could not be ruled out, and if that happened it might cause a rethink.
But Apax’s offer appeared a good one and Trade Me’s statement indicated it was likely to prevail, he said.