Music-Streaming Company Debt Restructuring
Creditors have waived through debt restructuring deals for two of music-streaming service Guvera’s subsidiaries. A hit for taxpayers even as the Gold Coast-based parent awaits a research and development grant.
Guvera placed subsidiaries Guvera Australia and Guv Services into administration in June. The company is owing almost $18 million to creditors including Tennis Australia, the Victoria Racing Club and Facebook.
Administrators said creditors had agreed to a Deed of Company Administration — debt restructuring deals. That meant “greater certainty of a return to priority creditors, such as employees, than liquidation of the companies would have done”.
The Deal is:
- Staff who were retrenched are due to get full payouts of $1.2 million, including outstanding superannuation and redundancy leave. But staff remain concerned about a payout ultimately occurring. The Administrator has been discussing getting some financial security from Guvera, currently headed by co-founder Claes Loberg.
- Guv Services owed the Australian Taxation Office $1.9 million. They would only pay 6.8c in the dollar in the debt plan proposed by Guvera. That comes as Guvera is telling investors it is expecting a $6.1 million cash refund for a government research and development grant.
- Guvera Australia creditors would get back 24.8c in the dollar in an “optimistic scenario”. This scenario involved other creditors who supplied services assigning $6.9 million in debt to Guvera’s main entity.
Guvera last week told investors the main entity already owed $4.9 million. But it has also just lost a legal case in the UK for 80 former staff of subsidiary Blinkbox, who had sued over outstanding entitlements. No damages bill has yet been nominated. But lawyers for the staff had previously indicated they would seek 10 million pounds. Guvera plans to appeal.
If you company or your client need debt restructuring, contact us before it’s too late
Source: Courier Mail , Brisbane
