Troubled vending machine franchise company VTL Group says it is at the due diligence stage in the sale of its 24seven vending business system operation in southern California.
VTL is the parent company of Nathans Finance which went into receivership last August, owing $166 million to investors.
Lastmonth VTL reported an audited loss of $133m for the 14 months to August, including write-downs and provisions relating to its Service America Group company of $105m.
At VTL's annual meeting in Auckland today chairman Gary Stevens said that for commercial reasons he was limited in what he could say about the sale of businesses which were seen as non-core assets, and the process of restructuring now under way.
The due diligence stage had been reached with a party for the 24seven operations in southern California, he said.
In Australasia, initial due diligence had been completed with a number of parties. Revised expressions of interest from those parties was being evaluated.
VTL intended to move to the next stage of due diligence with a single preferred bidder, Mr Stevens said.
The company was also working with professional advisers in New York who were preparing an information memorandum on the Shop24 automated convenience store system.
The memorandum would be a key part of VTL's efforts to source new capital and expertise to help the growth of Shop24, which continued to offer potential significant future value, Mr Stevens said.
It was worth noting that the investment in the Shop24 subsidiary was reflected in the parent company balance sheet at only $115,000.
VTL was also looking for a partner to help with the growth and expansion of its technology business.
Its shares closed at 2.5c yesterday, having been as high as $1.05 in July.
