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the Deed Administrators report that they have received more than 3,200 proofs of debt from shareholders, totalling approximately $122 million - the Deed Administrators are presently scheduling interviews with the former directors of ION and those interviews are expected to occur in late May and June 2008 - most summonses in respect of the former directors and officers of ION (as to whether successful claims may be brought against them) have been adjourned until 31 July 2008 - the Deed Administrators consider that they are unable to make a distribution to creditors at the present time given the present uncertainty of the quantum of shareholder claimants that will ultimately be admitted as creditors
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06/05/2008
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there is an ongoing investigation into the shareholder claims as mentioned in the last update
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03/04/2008
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administrators provide an update - the North Plympton factory plant and equipment and the land and buildings have been sold - the liquidation of ION NZ has been completed pending finalisation of taxation matters - to date the Deed Administrators have received more than 3,200 proofs of debt from shareholders, totalling approximately $122 million (this is a complex and time consuming
exercise) and administrators may need to approach the Court in due course for guidance on
the matters of disclosure obligations, causation and the quantification of shareholders losses - most summonses in respect of the former directors and officers of ION have been adjourned
for a period of 6 months
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21/09/2007
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the company releases its Preliminary Final Report
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13/09/2007
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if you purchased shares in ION Limited between 20 October 2003 and 7 December 2004 and
wish to register for the action (involving shareholders seeking to claim as creditors in the company's administration), please contact Slater & Gordon on 1800 555 777
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21/08/2007
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deed administrators advise of the sale of the Kilkenny land & building in January 2007 and the Kilkenny plant &
equipment in February 2007, the resolution of ION Energy Services' vendor note dispute in January 2007, the declaration of a NZD 25 million liquidation dividend from ION New Zealand to the ION
DOCA Group and the public examination of directors and senior management of the ION Group during
November and December 2006 and February 2007 (the information gained on oath
through the public examination process is being evaluated to determine whether it is in the interests of creditors to bring claims against directors) - the Deed Administrators
are also trying to determine shareholder claimants (that will
ultimately be admitted as creditors) and report that this will take some time to
complete and may involve running a test case or cases - this follows the court decision in the Sons of Gwalia case, see note of 31/01/2007 below
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15/03/2007
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in relation to the High Court's decision (see note immediately below), the Deed Administrators will now proceed to determine the shareholder proofs according
to law as confirmed by the High Court - to date, the Deed Administrators have received in
excess of 3,000 proofs of debt lodged by shareholders of ION alleging that various conduct
of ION was misleading or deceptive conduct or in breach of continuous disclosure obligations
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01/02/2007
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the High Court has ruled today that a person who buys shares in a company in reliance upon misleading or deceptive information from the company, or is misled as to the company's worth by its failure to make disclosures required by law, may have a claim for damages against the company which ranks equally with claims of other creditors - a Sons of Gwalia shareholder, Luka Margaretic lost $26,288 of his retirement savings after investing in the company 11 days before it went bust in August 2004 - Mr Margaretic claimed Sons of Gwalia had failed to notify the Australian Stock Exchange that its gold reserves were insufficient to meet its sale contracts and that it could not continue as a going concern - he said he was the victim of misleading and deceptive conduct in contravention of the Trade Practices Act, the Corporations Act and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act
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31/01/2007
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deed administrators state (on the issue of whether shareholders with claims for misleading and deceptive conduct can rank as unsecured creditors) that "given that the High Court decided to
expedite the hearing of the appeal, it might reasonably be expected that the High Court will
deliver its judgment in 2006"
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03/11/2006
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deed administrators confirm summonses have been issued for the public examination of directors and senior management
of the ION Group commencing 27 November 2006 - they have formed the view that there is sufficient evidence to warrant further investigation into
whether successful claims may be brought - these are the people involved: Michael Robin Beer (Director),
Ian Robertson Cootes (Director),
Roger Baden Flynn (Director),
Thomas George Klinger (Director),
Malcolm John McComas (Director),
George John Pizzey (Director),
Graeme Lester Salthouse (Director),
Colin John Peters (Director),
Kees Haverkamp (Manager - Strategic Projects),
John Mlinarevic (Group Purchasing Manager),
Gavin Smith (Chief Financial Officer - ION Limited),
Barry Clark (Chief Executive Officer - ION Automotive Group),
Edward Winfield (Financial Controller - ION Automotive Group),
John Harley (Plant Manager - Wingfield),
Frank Woolford (Plant Manager - Wingfield),
Michael Morrissey (Plant Manager - Wingfield),
Rick Nagul (Chief Financial Officer - ION Limited)
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03/11/2006
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this month liquidators estimate there will be a NZD 22 million liquidation dividend from ION New
Zealand to the ION DOCA Group
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30/09/2006
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the High Court has reserved its decision (on the issue of whether shareholders with claims for misleading and deceptive conduct can rank as unsecured creditors) - IMF (Australia) Limited say it is difficult to predict when it will come down; it may be later this year but could be early next year
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06/09/2006
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administrators announce that an agreement has been executed for the sale of the
Castalloy business to a subsidiary of US domiciled Harley-Davidson Inc
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29/08/2006
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the Wingfield plant &
equipment is sold this month, as is ION Energy Services' Spotswood property
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31/07/2006
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a Liquidator is appointed to ION NZ, a wholly owned subsidiary of ION DOCA Group
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30/06/2006
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High Court grants special leave (relating to the Sons of Gwalia question of whether shareholders with a claim can rank as creditors) and
orders that the hearing of the appeal be listed for 7 and 8 August 2006, to be heard
in Adelaide - the ION Deed Administrators say "given that the High Court decided to expedite hearing of the appeal, it
might reasonably be expected that the High Court will deliver its judgment within a
few months after the hearing"
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16/06/2006
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we understand the High Court will hear, on 16 June 2006, a special leave application relating to the Sons of Gwalia question of whether shareholders with a claim can rank as creditors
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25/05/2006
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the Wingfield land & building is sold this month
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30/04/2006
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ASIC has accepted an enforceable undertaking from Shareholder Advocacy Pty Ltd (SAPL) in relation to their prohibited use of information on company registers - SAPL had sent unsolicited letters, offering to lodge proof of debts with the companies, ION, Sons of Gwalia and Henry Walker Eltin - SAPL has agreed to cease sending offers to shareholders, lodge proof of debts for those persons who accepted SAPL’s offer with the Administrator of the relevant companies and also refund to shareholders "a pro-rata amount of the fee paid by shareholders to SAPL" - sorry we don't know how much you will get back!!
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16/03/2006
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in an update for creditors, administrators advise of two particularly significant new events, the first being the completion of the sale of ION Transmissions, and the second the handing down of judgment by the Full Court of the Federal Court in the Sons of Gwalia case - the SGW case, if it stands, essentially means that claims made by shareholders who
acquired their shares in ION on-market alleging misleading conduct or non-disclosure by ION,
should be treated on the same basis as the claims of other unsecured creditors - this of course affects possible creditor distributions - legal advice is being sought and creditors will be notified when administrators have formed a view - it should be noted that it is likely the SGW case will be appealed and that whole process could take a year or so
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15/03/2006
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the ION deed administrators confirm that unless and until such time as the High Court makes a different finding (in the Sons of Gwalia case), they are bound to apply the Full Court's reasoning in that proceeding in their administration of the ION DOCA - this means that claims made by shareholders who acquired their shares in ION on-market, alleging misleading conduct or non-disclosure by the company, should be treated on the same basis as the claims of other
unsecured creditors - to date approximately 3000 proofs of debt, totalling in excess of $100 million, have been lodged by shareholders of ION - given the legal issues involved, the Deed Administrators are presently considering the issues in conjunction with their legal advisers
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08/03/2006
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the company has completed the sale of its Albury based automotive transmission manufacturing facility and related intellectual property assets to Drivetrain Systems International Pty Ltd ("DSI") - the Administration trading period and subsequent sale of these assets is expected to contribute at least $70 million for creditors of the ION Group
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24/02/2006
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ION Automotive Systems Pty Ltd has executed a contract to sell its Albury based automotive transmission manufacturing facility and related intellectual property assets to Drivetrain Systems International Pty Ltd - after realisation of trading assets and liabilities excluded from the sale, the combined sale and trading cash outcome of the business to creditors is expected to exceed $70 million
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13/02/2006
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deed administrators provide a comprehensive update of the administration - to date some 2,500
proofs of debt have been received from shareholders totalling approximately $113 million – (there is still considerable uncertainty with respect to these claims as in a recent court case the Justice disagreed with a previous decision, believing the claims of transferee shareholders for damages in respect of misleading and deceptive conduct are postponed under section 563A of the Corporations Act to the claims of external creditors)
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02/12/2005
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we understand shareholders have also been approached by Dennis & Company seeking a sum of $550.00 to represent their interests and a further Solicitor & Client fee should any funds be recovered - as we say in our note of 31/8/2005 below, deListed is opposed in principle to lawyers seeking an advance fee from small shareholders to fund actions - we believe initial funding should come from the large shareholders who have the resources and expertise to better assess the chances of success - we recommend that shareholders (including those who have sold their shares to deListed) do not participate in this action at this juncture but instead obtain an Information Pack from IMF Australia at www.imf.com.au
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21/11/2005
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Deed Administrators advise that the sale of ION Transmissions is delayed until 30 November 2005 to
give the purchaser more time to finalise its capital structure
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30/10/2005
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administrators advise that the company's plant have today announced that 200 staff redundancies will occur at the Albury plant over the next two weeks - the redundancies will involve all aspects of the plant's operations including manufacturing workers as well as administrative and other staff
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07/10/2005
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deed administrators provide an update including results of operations, sale of businesses and their investigations - following the recent judgement in the Sons of Gwalia case (see that company on this site) the administrators are monitoring developments, including the appeal to the High Court, and will advise further regarding the position of shareholders as creditors
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19/09/2005
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we understand a company by the name of Shareholder Advocacy P/L is seeking an advance fee of $440 to fund a representative or class action - shareholders who have sold their shares subsequent to the company going into administration are not, in our view, precluded from joining this action if they wish - deListed is opposed in principle to lawyers seeking an advance fee from small shareholders to fund actions of this sort - we believe initial funding should come from the large shareholders who have the resources and expertise to better assess the chances of success - we recommend that shareholders (including those who have sold their shares to deListed) do not participate in this action at this juncture but instead obtain an Information Pack from IMF Australia at www.imf.com.au
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31/08/2005
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deed administrators advise that the long running legal case between
the EPA and ION Group has been resolved - Holden part
production is to be phased out of the North Plympton plant over the next 6 to 8 months - Harley-Davidson representatives have confirmed that
they want the North Plympton and Kilkenny plants to continue to supply them - the process of selling the business is likely to
recommence in the latter half of September with a number of parties continuing to
express interest in the business - transition to a new owner is targeted for the 1st quarter of 2006
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30/08/2005
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company has executed a contract to sell its automotive transmission manufacturing facility
located in Albury, NSW to Powertrain Products International Pty Ltd (PPI) - the "headline" purchase price for this transaction is AUD$48 million adjusted for
warranties provided by the vendor and working capital assets and employee
entitlements transferring to PPI
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26/08/2005
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the Group's automotive wheel
plant in Warsaw Kentucky is sold to ATS Beteiligungs GmbH for US$28 million plus working capital
assets net of closing adjustments as at 30 June 2005
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06/08/2005
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directors John Pizzey, Roger Flynn and Tom Klinger resign
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03/08/2005
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Deed Administrators provide an update of trading results, sale of businesses, proofs of debt and the investigation process
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08/07/2005
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IMF (Australia) Ltd will fund claims by persons who held an interest in shares in Ion as at 7 December 2004 (the date that voluntary administrators were appointed to Ion) - the claims will seek recovery of loss and damage sustained by shareholders as a result of Ion's collapse, on the basis that between 20 October 2003 and 7 December 2004 Ion engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and breached the continuous disclosure provisions of the Corporations Act by failing to keep the market fully informed - IMF expect to pursue claims, in the first instance, by way of proofs of debt under the Deed of Company Arrangement, and, if necessary, by subsequent court proceedings
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24/06/2005
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the administrator has made a declaration that there will be no return to shareholders - this means shareholders can choose to make a capital loss in the tax year 2004/05 - shareholders can click on the declaration here and download it to substantiate their claim
Click here to view Declaration (you first need to get Adobe Reader – click on ICON at bottom of screen)
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17/06/2005
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administrators lodge Deed of Company Arrangement with ASX
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06/06/2005
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company executes a deed
of company arrangement
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27/05/2005
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reports that ASIC has obtained a court order to secure a full copy of the administrators' interim report although administrators confirm there was no evidence of trading while insolvent
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09/05/2005
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administrator provides his view of the position of shareholders who are claiming to be creditors by
virtue of their shareholding and seeking admission to vote at the second creditors' meeting
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29/04/2005
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administrator releases a comprehensive report for creditors
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29/04/2005
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provides notice of meeting of creditors to be held on 6 May 2005
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28/04/2005
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we have been asked for our opinion of a proposed class action against ION its directors, officers and/or auditors - to our knowledge the only successful class action of any size was the GIO action - shareholders were not asked for an upfront fee in that case - we also have reservations about the statement "Unless you notify us of your interest you may not be included in the eventual result and you might very well miss out on the receipt of any entitlement" - it is our understanding that all shareholders are given an opportunity to opt in or out of the action at some time during the proceedings - we suggest shareholders think carefully before committing to the $550 fee and seek independent professional advice (while acknowledging this is a special area of the law and that advice will be hard to come by!)
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06/04/2005
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administrators provide an update of their administration for creditors
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05/04/2005
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administrators advise that the efforts to sell Castalloy's Wingfield plant as a going concern are unlikely to succeed and an orderly wind down of the facility is being implemented immediately as a result - the company will prepare for the closure of this plant with effect from 31 July 2005
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30/03/2005
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the convening period for the second meetings of creditors has been extended to
29 April 2005, for the meetings to be held by 6 May 2005 - the administrators apparently expect to have sold the various operating businesses by the middle of April
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22/03/2005
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Malcolm John McComas resigns as a director
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14/02/2005
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administrators advise creditors that the company’s growth strategy greatly exceeded its management and financial capacity, that management failed to deploy appropriate resources to improve the operations in SA which were “significantly unprofitable” – the administrators have focused on shoring up many areas of financial and operational weakness and “commencing the work required to improve performance at the SA plants" – at the second meeting of creditors Administrators should be able to recommend whether a Deed of Company Arrangement or liquidation are in the best interests of creditors – by and large shareholders can now only observe from the sidelines
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31/01/2005
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sale of ION Energy Services occurs
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25/01/2005
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reports that the administrators are to accelerate the sale of the group's assets as they seek to recoup about $550 million owed to creditors - it is believed administrators McGrath Nicol will appoint an investment bank as early as this week to oversee the sale of Ion's assets in Adelaide, Albury, New Zealand and the United States
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10/01/2005
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the administrator is reported to have indicated that it was unlikely creditors would recover all the money owed to them - that almost certainly means shareholders are unlikely to get anything
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10/01/2005
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Court grants an extension of the period
within which the Administrators of the ION group of companies must convene the second meetings
of creditors - the meetings must now be convened by 1 April 2005 and held by 8 April 2005
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23/12/2004
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administrator advises that a contract for the sale of the Ion Energy Services division
comprising the Cootes and Liquip businesses has been executed - the headline price remained at $191 million or approximately $151
million net of lease liabilities - the Administrators are also taking steps to prepare the Automotive business
for sale
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22/12/2004
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it is still too early to speculate on the outcomes but external administration rarely augurs well for shareholders
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18/12/2004
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administrators advise they will be pursuing sale of the business operations as going concerns and also considering the financial restructure of the group by way of a capital infusion
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17/12/2004
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first statutory meeting of creditors
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13/12/2004
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shares suspended from quotation following the appointment of administrators (McGrathNicol + Partners) - it appears that a consortium of five banks withdrew a $440 million line of credit that Ion secured only three months earlier - the five banks are owed about $330 million - National Australia Bank is exposed to about $135 million - the other banks are Commonwealth, Westpac, BNP Paribas and Japan's Mizuho
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07/12/2004
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name changed from Iron Carbide Australia Limited
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22/01/2001
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