The share holdings of the directors of listed financial services firm Bravura Solutions has again remained unclear following the voluntary administration of Lift Capital.
Sydney-based Bravura said in a statement yesterday that the near 29 million shares of the company’s chief executive and managing director Iain Dunstan and the 14.5 million shares of chief executive and operations director Simon Woodfull are subject to the fate of Lift.
Both directors built up their stake in Bravura by using margin lending through Lift.
“[They] have at all times understood and continue to understand that, under the terms of their margin lending arrangements with Lift Capital, they retain beneficial title to their Bravura shares and that if a margin call is made, they are required to satisfy that margin call or repay the loan in full,” Bravura said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
However, the statement also confirmed that Dunstan and Woodfull have not defaulted on their margin loans.
It also said that Merrill Lynch, the controversial secured creditor to Lift, has custody of the directors’ shares as collateral and have not sold them down to recover capital.
The directors’ may seek legal advice against Merrill, the statement said.
The company, which administers over 18 million pension, life insurance and investment accounts, has been in takeover discussions with private equity firm Ironbridge Capital, also based in Sydney.
Bravura confirmed in a statement that Ironbridge made a $1.73 all-cash offer for its shares, which were $1.46 on Friday. Bravura traded at $3 a share in January 2007.
Lift went into voluntary administration on April 10 after its margin lending business model backfired.
Its administrators, McGrathNicol, revealed in Sydney on Aprill 22 that Lift’s creditors may only have 50c on the dollar returned on their assets.
