Moulin's China assets sold for $100m
Private fund makes highest bid for Zhongshan plant and Shanghai chain
Assets of debt-ridden Moulin Global Eyecare Holdings are being sold off to the highest bidders, with its core mainland business snapped up for about $100 million by the same three investors who had triggered the Harbin Brewery Group takeover.
The eyewear firm's plant in Zhongshan, Guangdong, and its Shanghai retail chain of about 50 shops were bought by a private fund headed by Peter Jeva Au, Peter Lo and David Sun, with the latter saying yesterday that the intention was to stabilise the Shanghai operations and expand the retail business to other mainland cities.
'It was a great opportunity. We thought for the right price it's a terrific asset,' Mr Sun said. 'We would like to build up this retail chain ... as a stand-alone. We thought this has huge potential.'
Following talks with Moulin's management, there are plans to retain staff at the factory and stores.
According to Mr Sun, there was a 'bid-off' involving about 15 prospective buyers who could pick their assets of choice and propose a price. He said there was also some bidding for assets in the US.
'We focused only on the China assets and luckily we won the bid,' he said.
The three investors were key players in a hostile takeover of Harbin Brewery last year, with Mr Lo and Mr Au as executives of the company supporting a bid by US beer-maker Anheuser-Busch and Mr Sun acting as crucial middle-men. The three had been linked together through their US$80 million fund, China Enterprise Capital.
Anheuser-Busch eventually trumped South African giant SABMiller, which took $1.64 billion from its rival for its stake in the mainland company.
Subsequently, the three executives bought a 75 per cent stake in little-known luggage and handbag manufacturer Wealthmark International (Holdings).
Mr Sun said yesterday there were no plans to inject the Moulin assets into Wealthmark.
Irregularities in Moulin's accounts came to light earlier this year in the wake of its US$250 million purchase of a majority of Eye Care Centers of America (ECCA) in the US in February.
Moulin was put in the hands of provisional liquidators in June after 29 banks led by HSBC Holdings filed a petition at the High Court to have the company declared bankrupt in an effort to claw back at least $2.4 billion in debt.
Last month, police arrested five people connected to the company, including chairman Ma Bo-kee and his son, chief executive Cary Ma Lit-kin, amid a suspected $1.6 billion fraud at the firm. No charges were laid and the executives have been released on bail.
Roderick Sutton, one of the two provisional liquidators of Moulin, said the provisional liquidation would be extended beyond August 24 when there would be a court hearing on the petition to wind up the company.
On August 3, ECCA, during a presentation to its creditors in New York, said it had received less than US$200,000 of products from Moulin and cancelled all remaining orders from the Hong Kong firm, which was supposed to supply 25 per cent of the US retailer's stock.
