Satellite company NewSat plunges into administration
NewSat
PPB Advisory was appointed administrator of NewSat on Friday after the company breached several banking covenants with its key funders, the US Export-Import Bank and Europe's COFACE .
McGrathNicol has been appointed receiver.
Fairfax Media reported that NewSat needed to find $US70 million ($91 million) in new funding.
The company plans to launch the satellite Jabiru-1, which would be the only Australian-owned commercial satellite in operation.
The administrator and receiver will take control of a number of subsidiaries, including Jabiru Satellite, NewSat Space Resources and NSN Holdings.
An investigation by BusinessDay earlier this year uncovered further serious problems within NewSat, including alleged conflicts of interest, questionable related party transactions, poor governance and undisclosed lawsuits at the company.
NewSat Limited has also filed a petition for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in the US state of Delaware.
According to a statement from the receiver, "an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction have been granted under Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code in the United States on a temporary basis".
The move is thought to be an attempt to protect the company's US assets.
McGrathNicolNewSat
NewSat will continue to operate under the control of PPB Advisory and McGrathNicol.
On Thursday NewSat announced that William Abbott had quit as company secretary, after less than three weeks in the role.
He was replaced by the company's senior vice president of finance, John McDonough.
The Age
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