Bids being lined up for Great SouthernGordon Martin, the millionaire businessman and Curtin University Chancellor's, AU$20 million pitch to take over some of Great Southern's managed forestry projects has been given a major boost. US hedge-fund manager Och-Ziff Capital is reported as set to take a 50 per cent stake in his venture. New York-headquartered Och-Ziff has nearly AU$25 billion of assets under management.Mr Martin set up sole-purpose company Pulpwood Plantations to launch his rescue bid for six of the failed group's projects last month. He had pledged to sink up to AU$20 million in working capital into the schemes to keep them alive but with Och-Ziff's in-principle partnership agreement means a pitch can be made for all 11 Great Southern plantation projects. It was reported that both parties expect to formally sign off on the deal in the next two weeks. In addition to the Pulpwood Plantations move a new bid has been announced, this time from prominent Perth businessman John Poynton and forester Tony Jack, a former director of Integrated Tree Cropping, now ITC, which was taken over by Futuris Corporation, now Elders. Great Southern receivers McGrath Nicol are taking expressions of interest from various parties until next Wednesday. Great Southern has 10 different forestry schemes that each operate over a 10-year period, and involve about 240,000 hectares of plantations. |
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