Glass manufacturer Metro GlassTech, which struggled amid the downturn in the property market that followed the onset of the global financial crisis, has been sold for less than half the price an Australian private equity firm paid for it six years ago.
The East Tamaki-based company was acquired by Australia's Catalyst Investment Managers for $366 million during the boom times of 2006.
But according to an Overseas Investment Office decision summary and company documents, MetroGlass Tech's former owner breached financial covenants a year ago, forcing a capital restructure process that resulted in ownership being transferred to its lenders for the sale price of $181.5 million.
Australian private equity firm Crescent Capital Partners now holds a 40 per cent stake in Metro GlassTech, with other new shareholders including JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch International and Deutsche Bank's London branch.
In the company's latest financial statements lodged with the Companies Office, former directors Andrew Bailey and Trent Peterson said the firm's capital structure was rendered unsustainable by the downturn in the property sector, which resulted in a 40 per cent decline in the manufacturer's core market - glass for residential buildings.
