Global Wine Holdings has purchased “certain assets” of the failed Palandri Wine Group, according to administrators Deloitte.
Deloitte partner Gary Doran said Global Wine Holdings had been selected from 14 short-listed parties that had “expressed an interest in acquiring the assets”.
Palandri Wines went into voluntary administration in February with millions of dollars in debts to 2,500 creditors, many thought to be from financial planner client investments in debentures in Palandri Finance.
Global Wine Holdings is a newly-formed private company controlled by Chinese entrepreneur Xibo Ma — who was formerly the second largest shareholder of Palandri and has considerable industry interests in China.
Doran said the administrators believed the “sale of the business as a going concern was the optimal result for all Palandri stakeholders”.
“In recent weeks we have been in negotiations with short listed bidders and the secured creditors in an effort to maximise returns to all parties.”
Ma has invited former Palandri directors Darrel Jarvis and Chris Brown to the position of non-executive directors to “provide knowledge of the business”, Doran said.
An independent chief executive officer will be appointed to manage the company.
