Channel Ten: Administrators vindicated

This week's TGIF considers whether, in a voluntary administration, a report to creditors constituted sufficient disclosure and whether the proponent of a DOCA should be allowed to vote as a creditor in favour of that DOCA.

WHAT HAPPENED?

The Ten Group of companies (Ten) went into voluntary administration on 14 June 2017. During the administration, the receivers and administrators of Ten (the Receivers and the Administrators) invited recapitalisation or acquisition proposals for Ten. Two options were initially proposed to the Receivers:

• One proposed deed of company arrangement (DOCA) was from Birketu and Illyria, companies respectively associated with Bruce Gordon and Lachlan Murdoch, which were substantial shareholder guarantors of Ten before it went into administration (the B&I DOCA). A revised version was submitted on 25 August 2017 and was due to expire at the close of business that day.