DFO: open but empty
DFO's South Wharf is open for business but shoppers can't find it and trade is well below retailers expectations.
Insolvency firm KordaMentha says talks are ongoing and the future of DFO, which is understood to have debts of $550 million to banks and other creditors, should be known by tomorrow.
''A final decision will be announced at 9am (AEST) tomorrow but we can't say anything until we have been appointed,'' said a KordaMentha spokesman.
Developer Austexx, whose directors include Melbourne rich-listers David Goldberger and David Wieland, operates the eight DFO complexes along Australia's eastern seaboard.
It is believed the crisis stemmed from a dispute between the company's directors about how to service the spiralling debt.
ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel is also an investor and reportedly stands to lose most of his $50 million invested in a blind trust should the DFO chain collapse.
Mr Samuel today stood aside from a pending decision of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission involving NAB's $13.3 billion bid for Axa Asia-Pacific to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest. NAB is one of the largest lenders to Austexx.
AAP with BusinessDay
