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Friday 1st May 2009 |
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Austral Pacific Energy has agreed to a demand by its major creditor that a receiver be appointed, and trading in its shares has been suspended by the NZX.
The Canadian corporation ceded to its creditor’s edict that it and its two New Zealand subsidiaries, which encompass the majority of the group’s gas and oil assets and operations, go into receivership after failing to meet the April deadline of its third extension. It first extended the maturity date for its current facility with Investec Bank (Australia), around US$16.9 million, last December.
The NZX-listed shares, which have been suspended, last traded at six New Zealand cents on April 27.
Austral Pacific repaid an initial US$23 million loan to Investec last year, but had to draw on further borrowings to close out oil sales contracts and settle a gas prepayment liability. Since then, it had been unable to meet certain requirements in its agreement with the lender, and had operated under a series of “default waivers”.
There was “a significant uncertainty in relation to the group’s ability to continue as a going concern,” chief executive Thom Jewell said in a March 26 statement on the Austral Pacific’s annual result.
The company posted an annual loss of US$43.8 million in March, and blamed the write down in value of onshore Taranaki Cheal oil field, of which it holds a 69.5% interest.
Michael Ryan and Ian Francis of Taylor Woodings of Perth and Paul Sargison of Gerry Rea Partners of Auckland have been appointed as receivers.
Businesswire.co.nz
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