One of Australia’s most well-known companies has been placed into administration after losing a court battle with a $5.48m payout attached.
Hills, the company behind the iconic Hills Hoist clothesline, was placed into administration on Friday afternoon.
The company’s shares last traded at 2.3 cents, which valued the company at just $12.3m.
At the end of the March quarter, Hills had a cash balance of $2.8million after making a net loss of $23.9million in 2022.
Hills was founded by Lance Hill in 1945, who manufactured the Hills Hoist and from there grew the business into a manufacturing giant with revenues upwards of $1billion in the 2000s.
The company was placed into administration after falling out with supplier Stellar Vision Operators over contractual matters.
The court case was originally dismissed in 2022, yet an appeal from Stellar saw the decision overruled and a $5.48 million payout ordered to be paid on May 18.
Following the decision, Hills requested that its shares be suspended as it negotiated the next steps with Stellar.
Hills said they were ‘seeking a voluntary suspension pending resolution and an announcement by the company in relation to ongoing settlement negotiations between the parties and other stakeholders, including the financier, which, if not satisfactorily resolved, have the potential to have a significant impact on the company’s financial condition’.
The company that created the iconic Hills Hoist clothesline (pictured) has gone into administration after a court ruled Hills must pay more than $5 million to Stellar Vision Operation, sending the company under
The payment was related to the provision of patient entertainment systems to Western Sydney Local Health District (pictured) after two supplier companies fell out over contract matters concerning digital healthcare technology
Hills was founded by Lance Hill in 1945, who manufactured the Hills Hoist and from there grew the business into a manufacturing giant
Hills chief executive David Clarke saying the outcome was ‘incredibly disappointing’.
‘This is not an outcome we ever envisaged, particularly following our successful capital raising in April, which brought on board a new cornerstone investor and, we believed, set up Hills for long-term success,’ Mr Clarke said.
‘To have the company enter administration as a result of a historic legal action over a transaction that long predates the current management and board, and has never had any bearing on the operations of the business, is incredibly disappointing.
‘Our consistent legal advice was that this legal claim would ultimately be resolved in Hills’ favour, which made the Court of Appeal ruling so unexpected.
‘The board and management have worked tirelessly through the standstill period in an attempt to negotiate a commercial outcome with Stellar Vision that would protect the interests of all Hills shareholders, employees and other stakeholders.
‘However, we have been unable to reach an agreement that satisfied the requirements of all stakeholders.’
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
