Ceramics company in receivership

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32635, 17 June 1971, Page 9

Ceramics company in receivership

(New Zealand Preu Aisociatlon)

AUCKLAND, June 16.

Starlite Ceramic Industry, Ltd, the Singapore company in which Consolidated Brick and Pipe Investments, Ltd, Auckland, made a $150,000 investment earlier this year, has been placed in receivership.

The directors of Consolidated Brick hope that the receiver will keep the company going, and that it can be reestablished on a sounder

basis. “We see tremendous possibilities,” the managing director (Mr T. E. Clark), who is also Starlite’s chairman, said today. Consolidated Brickthrough its Crown Lynn Potteries subsidiary—took a 22.5 per cent interest in the Singapore company after being invited by the Singapore Government to take part in a rescue operation, he said. By that stage, Starlite had already lost half of its $2,500,000 capital. Consolidated Brick had said it was prepared to put more money into the company, provided certain conditions were met. These were that a rights issue of $630,000 was made, the secured creditors accepted 25 per cent repayment of debts in cash, and the remainder in shares, short-term loans were put on a more realistic basis, with deferment of repayments, and that a long-term management and technical assistance contract was concluded with Consolidated Brick or someone else.

Consolidated Brick, and the Singapore Government were prepared to take up half of the rights issue.

However, negotiations to have the other half underwritten failed, and the bank then appointed a receiver.

There is now a chance of reorganising along the lines suggested. Consolidated Brick had been paid fees for work already done for Starlite in Singapore. It was prepared to continue, to assist the company and the receiver in a reorganisation if that were his wish, as the potential under sound management was still attractive, Mr Clark said.