Qintex Limited was an Australian financial services company founded on 1 April 1975, as Takeovers, Equities & Management Securities (TEAM). Its headquarters was in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia. Its main shareholder and managing director was Christopher Skase. It was renamed Qintex Limited and came to prominence in 1986, collapsing five years later in 1991. At its peak, Qintex owned interests in Channel 7, Mirage Resorts, Hardy Brothers jewellery retail concern and a number of other businesses.

History

Qintex was established in 1975 by Christopher Skase and his partners. Skase expanded the company substantially, initially into retail with investments in Hardy Bros and car dealer Nettlefolds. Qintex also expanded into property development. In 1984, Qintex bought television station TVQ-0 in

. Later Qintex purchased

HSV-7 HSV is a television station in Melbourne, Australia. It is part of the Seven Network, one of the three main commercial television networks in Australia, its first and oldest station. It launched in time for the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melbou ...

and

ATN ATN is the Sydney Flagship (broadcasting), flagship television station of the Seven Network in Australia. The licence, issued to a company named Amalgamated Television Services, a subsidiary of Fairfax Media, John Fairfax & Sons, was one of the ...

-7 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

from John Fairfax & Sons. In 1986, the company invested in an entertainment company named Qintex Entertainment (today Sonar Entertainment), formed by the merger of American studios Hal Roach Studios and Robert Halmi Incorporated. In 1989, the company was struggling to meet interest payments and sold its share in Mirage Resorts for in excess of $433 million.

Collapse

The first signs of collapse showed in October 1989, when the American subsidiary filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

protection after Qintex failed to provide financing for a debt payment. The Australian Stock Exchange suspended Qintex's stock shortly after when the company failed to respond to questions of its financial health. A month later, in November 1989, Qintex Ltd went into receivership with debts of over A$1.9 billion. The collapse happened just six weeks after the company lost a bid to acquire MGM/UA studios for A$1.5 billion. Its collapse was prompted by what was later seen as an excessive amount of debt in the business. This coincided with very high interest rates that prevailed in 1989. When the company missed interest payments and was not able to renegotiate its position with the

Commonwealth Bank The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), also known as Commonwealth Bank or simply CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of fi ...

, the bank appointed a receiver to the company. It was in 1991 that Qintex filed for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

and was

liquidated Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as wound-up or dissolved, although di ...

, Bank-appointed receivers created Seven Network Limited in order to bundle together the

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

company's assets.

References

{{Business in Australia Companies based in Brisbane Defunct financial services companies of Australia Financial services companies established in 1975 Financial services companies disestablished in 1991 Australian companies disestablished in 1991 Australian companies established in 1975 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1989 Corporate scandals Companies formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange