McAleese rescue deal under a cloud

The distressed transport group has been forced to push back a meeting to vote on its complex debt plan.

The revised date represents a delay of three weeks. Picture: Ross Swanborough.

The recapitalisation plan designed to stave off bankruptcy at distressed transport group McAleese is again under a major cloud as a planned meeting to approve the deal is forced back.

In its latest update, McAleese said it would request shareholder approval on the complicated deal with Hong Kong debt trader SC Lowy at a meeting through the week starting on September 19.

The revised date represents a delay of three weeks and means approval cannot be achieved before the current deal deadline of September 9.

“McAleese is no longer able to meet the September 9 date and is currently negotiating an extension with the SC Lowy consortium to enable the general meeting to be held in the week commencing 19 September 2016,” the company said.

The vote relates to a binding heads of agreement reached by McAleese that will cancel all existing senior debt in exchange for $112.3m.

The $112.3m is slated to come through $16m in cash, SC Lowy’s acquisition of McAleese’s remaining senior debt of $91.3m and a future $5m to be paid by McAleese.

The deal was also to involve a $26m capital raising and a proposed delisting of McAleese from the ASX, just two-and-a-half-years after its float.

Meanwhile, a planned meeting on August 29 that could see a spill of the board will proceed as planned.

Key shareholder Havenfresh, which owns 14 per cent of McAleese shares, wants all directors aside from Gilberto Maggiolo removed, including chairman Don Telford and chief executive Mark Rowsthorn.

The group has alleged the recapitalisation plan places “unacceptable coercive pressure” on existing shareholders.

Havenfresh is in part controlled by Mr Maggiolo.