New Zealand

Sir Michael Fay says his group's bid for the Crafar farms remains on the table despite being rejected by the receivers yesterday, The New Zealand Herald reported. The group's $171.5 million offer is almost $30 million short of that from China's Pengxin International Group. KordaMentha receiver Brendon Gibson said the accepted Pengxin offer was by far the best offer and remained so. Regarding Fay's offer, he said: "It was conditional and a collaboration of several companies and was a price that we think was unacceptable, so no go on any of those fronts.

Wellington businessman and former Phoenix football owner Terry Serepisos has been declared bankrupt in the High Court at Wellington after his last-minute bid for more time to pay debts was rejected, The New Zealand Herald reported. Judge Gendall granted an application by South Canterbury Finance, owed some $22.5 million, to declare Serepisos bankrupt after he failed to convince the court to grant him four more days to secure funding from a Hong Kong-based merchant bank.

The latest receivers' report for failed finance company Bridgecorp makes predictably grim reading for investors, with a mere $1.5 million recovered from its assets in the six months to July 1, Stuff.co.nz reported. Receivers Colin McCloy and Maurice Noone of PWC repeated their assessment that debenture holders owed $459m are likely to recover less than 10c in the dollar. Subsequent to the period covered by the report a further $4m was recovered and in August receivers sent debenture holders their first payment since Bridgecorp collapsed in July 2007.

South Canterbury Finance's (SCF) receivership has seen the biggest taxpayer loss of any corporate failure in New Zealand's history, Labour MP David Cunliffe says. The country faces a net loss of $1.3 billion, and growing, following the collapse of SCF, the Labour finance spokesman said when visiting Timaru yesterday, Stuff.co.nz reported. He says the Government could have limited its loss to $500 million and took a shot at Rangitata MP Jo Goodhew's handling of the issue. She labelled his comments "distasteful".

The Wellington accountancy firm at the centre of multimillion-dollar fraud allegations against its owners has been placed in receivership and put up for sale, Stuff.co.nz reported. On Friday, Deloitte was appointed receiver of TPS Accounting – known until recently as Tax Planning Services – just eight weeks after its directors lost in the Supreme Court a nine-month battle to prevent their names being published. In July, David Ingram Rowley and Barrie James Skinner were revealed as the accountants at the centre of a $9 million tax fraud case, in which Inland Revenue claims it lost $2.9m.

The death of Timaru financier Allan Hubbard makes little difference to the ongoing sale of his businesses - but compassion is being exercised, The New Zealand Herald reported. Kerryn Downey, South Canterbury Finance receiver at McGrathNicol with William Black, said SCF staff numbers were gradually being reduced, offices in three main centres were being sold and negotiations were continuing over further asset sales. The process is continuing according to plan despite the death, but Downey indicated he was taking an empathic approach.

Two directors of the failed Nathans Finance company have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment in the High Court at Auckland today, while one of their colleagues will serve a term of home detention, The New Zealand Herald reported. Company chairman Kenneth (Roger) Moses has been sent to jail for two years and two months and ordered to pay $425,000 in reparations. Fellow director Mervyn Doolan has been sentenced to two years and four months jail time, with reparations of $150,000.

Wellington property developer Terry Serepisos has had bankruptcy proceedings against him adjourned so he can organise the sell-down of over $230 million worth of property, The National Business Review reported. John Billington, Mr Serepisos' new lawyer, told the Wellington High Court today that his client wants to work with insolvency specialists to sell his property portfolio, which includes about 150 residential properties and six significant commercial properties, all in Wellington.

Troubled Wellington property developer Terry Serepisos has been given a bit more time to convince creditors he can orchestrate an orderly sale of his assets with a surplus of some $30 million, The New Zealand Herald reported. Associate Judge David Gendall granted an adjournment for bankruptcy proceedings against Serepisos in the High Court in Wellington today after receiving a proposal on Friday that will leave assets worth some $232.5 million in the hands of two experienced insolvency practitioners to sell them over the next few years.

Confusion reigns around the administration of a landmark Auckland wedding venue and restaurant, with the owner puzzled over what has happened to his business of 28 years, Stuff.co.nz reported. The case is one of nearly 100 voluntary administrations agreed since insolvency laws were changed to allow the new procedure four years ago. And the results so far have been mixed, with most companies which opt for voluntary administration eventually failing.