Merchant Capital asks for receivers

Press, 31 August 1989, Page 37

Merchant Capital asks for receivers

PA Wellington The listed merchant bank. Merchant Capital New Zealand, Ltd, has asked to be suspended from trading on the Stock Exchange and requested receivers to be appointed after the failure of a subsidiary of its Australian parent. MCNZ company directors yesterday said they had asked the debenture holder AMP Perpetual Trustee Company N.Z., Ltd, to appoint a receiver to the company. The company also asked to be suspended from trading on the Stock Exchange yesterday, at NZSE spokesman said. Merchant Capital N.Z. is 65 per cent owned by the listed Australian company, Yalfa Investments, which is in turn owned by Perth-based Markland House. The directors said they believed there were sufficient assets to cover the liabilities secured under the Debenture Trust Deed, but they might not be realised in time to meet repayment of liabilities. “These timing differences have been overcome in the past by the provision of bridging funds from Merchant Capital (Australia), a member of the Markland House group of companies,” the directors said. “This form of assistance was no longer available,” they said. Merchant Capital N.Z. is a subsidiary of Markland House, whose Australian subsidiary, Merchant Capital, was placed in provisional liquidation late on Tuesday. The companies to be placed in receivership include all the New Zealand registered companies — Merchant Capital (N.Z.) Main Securities, Intersuisse, Mainsure Corporation, Main Pacific Corporation, and Golding Pacific — and the Hong Kong based subsidiary, Pacific Euronational Holdings. Merchant Capital (N.Z.), formerly Main Corporation, reported a loss of $8,818,000 for the six months to December 31. The result compared with a $479,000 profit in the same period in 1987. Merchant, formerly owned by Pacer Pacific, now Pacer Kerridge, was involved in sharebroking and merchant banking.