FMA Statement On Statutory Management For Du Val Corporations

The Financial Markets Authority – Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko – today confirmed that the Governor-General, on the advice of the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs given in accordance with a recommendation from the FMA, declared a number of entities within the Du Val group be placed in statutory management under the terms of the Corporations (Investigation and Management) Act 1989 (the Corporations Act).

Statutory management for these entities was announced by the Minister today, effective immediately. John Fisk, Stephen White and Lara Bennett of PwC New Zealand, who were appointed as interim receivers on 2 August 2024, have been appointed as the Statutory Managers.

The Corporations Act provides remedies to deal with complex corporate failures and is most appropriate where a company has, or may have been operating fraudulently or recklessly or, alternatively, where the ordinary law is inadequate to deal with an orderly wind up of the companies. In this case, the FMA considers both provisions apply.

The FMA’s recommendation was based both on its own investigations and a report from the Court- appointed interim receivers, PwC New Zealand (Report). The Report is currently subject to Court orders restricting its publication.

The FMA considers that the conditions under the Corporations Act have been met, and is satisfied that statutory management is the most appropriate available option for each of the Du Val group corporations to which it has been applied, for the purpose of: 

· limiting or preventing the risk of further deterioration of the financial affairs of those corporations;

· limiting or preventing the carrying out, or the effects of, any fraudulent act or activity;

· preserving the interests of their creditors or beneficiaries or the public interest; and

· enabling the affairs of the Du Val group corporations to be managed in a more orderly way.

The FMA has ongoing investigations into the Du Val group.

Du Val investors and creditors with questions on the statutory management process should contact PwC New Zealand at nz_duval@pwc.com.

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