Australia

The US hedge funds Apollo and Oaktree, investment bank Goldman Sachs and Nine Entertainment begin talks on Monday and Tuesday that will decide whether the television group gets new owners quickly or slides into the purgatory of receivership, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Nine convened the meeting to try and resolve a stand-off between the hedge funds, which own most of Nine's $2.7 billion senior debt, and Goldman, which manages investment funds that own about 80 per cent of Nine's lower-ranking $1.1 billion tranche of mezzanine debt.

The potential receivership of Nine Entertainment is now a real threat amid a critical debt covenant test for the group at the end of the month, The Australian reported. According to sources, CVC Asia Pacific and financiers have been forced to all but abandon hope for a strategic buyer for Nine, Australia's second-placed free-to-air network.

Australian Music Group Holdings (AMG), which trades as Billy Hyde and Allans, has been placed into receivership by one of its creditors. James Stewart and Brendan Richards from Ferrier Hodgson were appointed as administrators Thursday morning by Revere Capital, a group of private investors owed around $27 million by AMG, and immediately placed the retailer into receivership. Unsecured creditors are owed around $13.5 million, while employee entitlements are estimated at $3 million.

The Tasmanian timber company Gunns has rejected reports an insolvency firm has been inspecting its books, ABC News reported. Gunns says it has hired the firm KordaMentha to provide advice on the sale of some of it woodchip processing assets. Newspaper reports claim the insolvency specialists were appointed by lender ANZ to examine Gunns' finances. Gunns has revealed an $800 million devaluation of a range of assets because of a fall in global woodchip process, leaving its balance sheet in the red.

Defence technology company Metal Storm has been placed in voluntary administration. The company today said it had appointed Adam Shepard and Adam Farnsworth of Dean-Willcocks Shepard Recovery & Strategy as administrators, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Metal Storm said it was hoped its business could be restructured or sold as a going concern. No details were given about the future of the company's workers.

Platinum Australia (PLA), the ASX-listed platinum miner with all its operations in SA, has now sought refuge from its creditors in voluntary administration. That means there could be some assets up for grabs for mining companies still in the ring, the Financial Mail reported. One of those is African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), Patrice Motsepe's diversified mining company, which is PLA's partner in the advanced Kalplats exploration project, 330km west of Johannesburg.

On July 1, the Gillard government quietly slipped through a set of laws designed to crack down on phoenix companies - those that collapse one day with a pile of debts and, like the bird in Greek mythology, rise from the ashes with the same assets and customers using a slightly different name. The fraudulent practice enables them to avoid taxes, wages and other bills, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The corporate regulator is claiming success with its crackdown on the insolvency profession and says it will continue to be a key area of focus, The Australian reported. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has broken new ground by issuing its first annual report into the insolvency industry, identifying and describing recent enforcement actions in the wake of being granted additional funding to increase surveillance.

Australia's slowing economy was given a shot in the arm Tuesday when the central bank cut a hefty half-percentage point from official interest rates, signaling a shift in its focus away from fighting inflation and toward safeguarding growth amid an uncertain global outlook, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Embattled miner Kagara has gone into voluntary administration after failing to meet its debt obligations, putting up to 325 jobs at risk, The Australian. The Perth company announced yesterday it had appointed Taylor Woodings as voluntary administrator after suspending its shares from trading last week because it had failed to refinance a $40 million debt facility with ANZ. Administrator Michael Ryan said the administration process would provide the company and stakeholders with breathing space and protection to make decisions about the future in a considered way.