Savoy facing loss as it exits tech sector

By Phil Boeyen, ShareChat Business News Editor

Friday 22nd December 2000

Savoy Equities (NZSE: SVY) is forecasting a loss for the full financial year and has confirmed the sell-off of its technology subsidiary, eSavoy, after plans for a $45 million share placement in Asia fell through.

CEO, Kerry Haycock, says the company had been progressing the private share placement but, following the bankruptcy of director and major shareholder, Jihong Lu, the company had been unable to complete the funding.

He says the company's other major shareholders did not wish to support funding for the company's technology strategy which had led to the eSavoy portfolio being put up for sale.

"Initially, we anticipated this would be negotiated as a sale of the complete portfolio of businesses and had made substantial progress to that end.

"Unfortunately, we have been unable to complete this transaction with the required certainty within our required time frame. As a result, the technology subsidiaries have been marketed on an individual basis."

Mr Haycock says the sale of the businesses of the wireless network provider Safetynet / Ipfinity and mobile application service provider, E-Zebra, had been completed, and the company is in the final stages of documentation on a sale of its share holding in the Shanghai-based software company JetTronic.

A total of 16 staff had either transferred with the business sales or taken redundancy.

Mr Haycock says as a result of the divestments and the inability to complete earlier transactions which would have contributed to a profit for the full financial year, the company is now forecasting a loss.

Savoy retains an interest in the Hyatt Regency through a share holding in listed Australian property company, Hudson Pacific Group, and says it intends to focus on its planned legal action against the Auckland City Council over the Britomart project.

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