Centro receives six-month extension
Troubled financial services firm Centro Properties Group has received a six-month reprieve from repayment of almost $4.2 billion in debts by its creditors.
According to reports, the decision to extend the deadline from April 30 to September was made by financiers during a meeting held in San Francisco last week in the hope of maintaining an orderly sale of Centro’s assets over an all out ‘fire-sale’.
It is believed the financiers are confident about Centro’s new chief executive Glenn Rufrano, but are advising against his equity injection proposal and would prefer clean asset disposals.
In other news, MFS, which is also facing similar debt troubles, has announced that all margin loans relating to MFS shareholdings in other companies and all previous short-term obligations have been repaid.
Shareholders in the flailing Gold Coast-based property group have also approved a name change to Octaviar Limited at an extraordinary general meeting in Melbourne. In a market update for shareholders, new MFS chief executive Craig White said a strategic review of the business was making progress.
It comes as litigation funding firm IMF announced to the Australian Securities Exchange that it will fund shareholder class actions against four Australian financial services companies, including MFS and Centro.
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