The bulk of New Tel creditors who attended the meeting held in Sydney yesterday afternoon voted against liquidation, with just 43 of the 131 attendees in favour of a motion to liquidate the company. However, when the dollar value of debt was taken into account the balance shifted dramatically in the other direction, with larger creditors such as Telstra, Optus and AAPT throwing AU$37 million in debt in favour of liquidation, leaving just AU$7 million against.
As such New Tel's fate was left in the hands of PricewaterhouseCoopers' Carter who opted, as he had foreshadowed, for liquidation.
Broadcast & Wireless Ltd representatives David Humann, and Richard Stegall attended had the opportunity to outline their offer for the company before it went to a vote. However, they failed in their bid to convince larger creditors.
According to a spokesperson for PricewaterhouseCoopers, employee entitlements, and a proportion of money owed to creditors will be covered by cash deposits and receivables that total approximately AU$12.5 million. The liquidators are now also calling for expressions of interest in the New Tel fixed line and mobile customer base, as well as other assets.
