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Twenty-nine staff employed by Forest Enterprises Australia (FEA) have been retrenched.
Prior to its entry into voluntary administration and then receivership, the listed agribusiness company employed 185 people.
It was announced earlier this week that FEA’s receiver and manager, Deloitte, had ended the contract of former FEA chief executive Andrew White, while one of FEA’s founders, Tony Cannon, is no longer working for the company.
The first meeting of FEA’s creditors will be held in Tasmania on Tuesday next week. A committee representing FEA growers is urging investors to support FEA’s appointment of BRI Ferrier as administrators.
The committee said FEA’s financiers, the Commonwealth Bank and ANZ, are seeking to have Korda Mentha appointed as administrators. The Commonwealth Bank also appointed Korda Mentha as receivers to failed financial planning group Storm Financial.
The FEA growers committee (FEA Growers) supports the appointment of BRI Ferrier as voluntary administrator to both FEA and FEA Plantations, saying FEA’s choice of BRI Ferrier was made “in the best interests of the company and stakeholders”.
“There is concern that the banks may make a motion to overturn BRI Ferrier’s appointment in the first meeting of creditors in favour of another company.”
FEA Growers are urging investors to submit proxies by 2pm today, although the deadline is not until the meeting on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, BRI Ferrier has advised that grower investors may have a basis to make a legal claim against both FEA and FEA Plantations.
“FEA Plantations has entered into a management agreement with FEA to perform the management duties (i.e. maintain trees) required by FEA Plantations. FEA Plantations is a wholly owned subsidiary of FEA and its obligations in a liquidation scenario (should it happen) would result in a claim by the voluntary administrator of FEA Plantations against FEA on behalf of the grower investors and creditors of FEA Plantations,” FEA Growers states.
“Disclosure documents for forestry projects state that FEA guarantees the grower investors position.”
