'Close call' on Blue Star debt deal angers union

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Commercial printer Blue Star Group has won the support of bond holders for a debt restructuring after saying the alternative was receivership, but the "close call" for hundreds of workers has angered the union representing them.

Bond holders voted 76.9 per cent in favour of the refinancing proposal, surpassing the 75 per cent required. The approval was the final hurdle of a refinancing and managing director Chris Mitchell said: "A cloud has been lifted from the company."

The Engineering, Printing & Manufacturing Union (EPMU) said the deal by majority owner Champ Private Equity, a private equity investor, had been too close for comfort.

The company employs hundreds of workers in New Zealand at eight sites.

"Their take-it-or-leave-it approach to bond holders has also shown a complete disregard for workers' livelihoods," EPMU national industry organiser Louisa Jones said.

"This kind of brinkmanship is not what we expect from responsible business owners in New Zealand," she said.

Champ acquired control of Blue Star in 2006 for $385 million and said at the time the business was the largest commercial print provider in New Zealand. It is also a market leader in the niche web-offset printing market for Australian medium volume, high-quality magazines.

Under the terms of the deal bond holders will receive their first interest payment in October 2013.

- NZPA