t l5 Em ffiH.3åiï"ä"iLan Financiar Review Companies&Markets o o smoves tobringin administrator VesnaPoljak The rescue attempt by the former TFS began in May 2017 when the Quintis has appolnted KordaMentha as shares plgnged 72 per cent in the days administators afur its cash reserr¡es after it emerged that a prestigious oil were finalþ e¡úrausted following a suppty deal with Galderma was lost hedge fund's dedsion to fo¡ce the sale of wifbout the lmowledge of the board or a plantation parcel back to the com- any toplwel managers in Australia pany. But it was the work of a US short-seller, By placinþ the business into volun- Glaucus, that invited scrutiny of the tary administration, equity investors Quintis business model after Glaucus face the risk ofrealising zero return on published research in March 2017 that their shares, which have not traded estimated the shares were worttrless, Barry Lambert and EricWang expect to have three well-established businesses bythetime of the lPO. pHoro: eETERBRATG sinceMay20l7. and likened aspects ofthe organisation On Friday, Davidson Kempner elec- toaPonzischeme. ted to exercise its right to sell 400 hec- Glaucus refused to back down after tares of Indian sandalwood trees back to the company accused it of 'substantial Barq/s Lambert's Ecofibre hemp the companyat the agreed price of $37 and egregicus inaccuracies' and ana- million. Ithas held thatrightsince 2014 lysing "the price of BMW vehicles by under a putoption that itwas awa¡ded looking at import data for Kiavehiclel'. company plans to list this year when itinvested in the company'splant- Quintis was hamstrung by its reli- ations. Davidson Kempner is supposed ance on the capital markets for funding to see paymentbyFebruary2, butwill given the long lead times to maturity nowjoin the queue of creditors. for Indian sandalwood trees. A hoped- Carriel¿Frenz properties. In addition, it allows the November it legalised hemp as a food 'The company does not have the fn- for spin-off of its Santalis business, garment to conduct currents and that source, Mr Lambert remained critical ancial resources available to it to pay which investþates clinical uses for san- Ecofibre" the industrial hemp company allows for connectd body regulation, ofAustralianregulation. the put option price and the directors dalwood oil, was impossible after the chaired by Rich Lister Barry t^ambert, likewhatwecallpassivemonitoring."'The government prefers to ngt have therefore resolved to appoint Galderma contract termination. At plans to liston the ASX laterthisyear. Mr Wang added Ecofibre plans on explain tìe difference between hemp Richard Tucker, Scott. Langdon and 2OIGL7, its plantations were valued at It is in the final stages of a preIPO leveraging its relationships from Phil- and marijuana and so the minute John Bumbak of KordaMentha as vol- $438 million afterbeing revalued lower raising,with funds slaæd to expand its adelphia's Thomas Jefferson Uni- ev€ryone thinla about cannabis, the untary administrators of Quintis Lim- by $gOO million, and it is carrying business, including the dwelopment of versity.In20l6BarryandJoylambert average Australian thinks about ited and its Australian subsidiaries," it almost $150 million of property, plant its high+ech fibre textile, Hemp Black donated $3 million to support its marijuana...becausethereisnohemp said in a statement on Sunday. The and equipment mainly being its vast Chief e><ecutive Eric Wang - for- CentreforMedicalCannabisEducation grown here. We are a hemp business, appointment was made on Saturday. land holdings, although those proper- merþ Perpetual drief operating officer and Research. This was on the back of not marijuana businesses," he said. Bondholders, the biggest of which iS ties are largely encumbered. - is garnering institutional ir¡vestor the philanthropists gift of $34 million He added the Therapeutic Goods BlackRock are sæking to. name Chairman Dalton Gooding said:'We supporta[d has secured backing from totheUniversityofSydneyforwhatis Administration and Office of Drug McGrathNicol as receivers. are very disappointed with this out- IMF Investors, among others. Based on called the Lambert Initiative for Control are "living in the pasq all sur- "The company has been working tire come given the huge efforts made over the latest $10 million investrnent CannabinoidTherapeutics. rounded buy paranoia over lessly on a recapitalisation tansaction the last nine months to recapitalise the round, Ecofibre is valued between marijuana". to improve its liquidity position since company in order to deliver its sustain- $125 million and $135 million. High-teqh April 2017 and it is disappointing that a able future. The board is very grateful '[he] fund raise is going well," Mr !bre_- .,H"H*ilHäi'"ffiij""'*å successfr¡l soþent recapitalisation for the support of the management Wang told The Australian Financial Hemp Black will marijuana they are both part of the q¡uld notbe completed," Quintis said. team, the noteholders and manyothers Rø¡iø¡t. 'We have a greåt pool of high over this period." net worth investors, so rve been become_thèbiggesr ffiü:å,ffir"1";"tii,$i,fffJ$: Further information from Quintis is focused on insdnrtions, which help partofthebusiness. flowerandleales,notfroin'ttreseeds. expected thisweek move us towards an eventual IPO. We In 2016, Ecofibre moved its commer- The appointrnent of administrators will have three well-established busi- 0"" t" comes as the board was faced with a nesses by the time that happens." Mr Lambert is known ror building ffi,?ä':tT;ål;oï':H,f- challenge brought by a group of share Mr Wang said Hemp Blackwill wen- Count Financial, which he sold to the Ecofibre has raised some $30 million holders, backed by founder and former tually become the biggest part of its Commonwealth Bank of Australia for from private investors including fund boss FrankWilson to roll three direct- business. It will launch women's run- $373 million in 2011. But later in life he manager Chris Cufre, Frcd Marishel, ors including Mr Gooding. It had not ning tights and sport bras in ttre East has helped spearhead the fight to legal- Erica and George Gregan; investnent yet responded to the requisition when Coast of the US in April. It is also plan- ise medical marijuanainAusnalia- His banke¡<ecutivesandentertainers. KordaMentha was summoned. ning launches in the athleisure wear granddaughter suffers from a rare "Asaretireddentistlamwellaware The company still has two share. catElory and possible healthcare and .formofchildepilepsy. of the history of cannabis-based holder class actions ahead ofit, one of military applications. Mr Lambert said Ecofibre was pre. products and the planfs use for a which also names Mr Wilson as a Hemp Black is akin to Gore.Tex used paring for a float It has convertedlo a whole host of natural medicines over defendant, (Quintis and Mr Wilson in performance apparel. public companystatusandthe founder the millennia" MrMarishel said. "Ifs about using the technologr in has stepped down 'I look fonn¡a¡d to the reintroduction While the federal government of cannabis-based pain relievers and - recently approved'the orport of medi- for the plant to resume its righúrl place *" -Qùintischairrñan -*-'-' Daltôri Goóding sayi cooperated, and at leâst two other cinal cannabis prärÌuct5 such áS-oils;..-aSaneffectiveandnon=toxicpairrmed- he is very disappointed. legal disputes are ongoing. thermal regulation, and antibacterial sprays, tablets and patches, and in icationavailablefreely." Iconic D(L Jam for sale as changing consumer tastes weigh on sales SueMitdrell Euromonitor, and the sector, worth "D(L and Taylors are great brands, At the time of the SPC acquisition, sales of $342 million in calendar 2016, about $120 million a year, is facing but the spreads and sauces/marinades Henry Jones DO was generating sales with SPC making a loss. BreaKast maystill be the mostimport- increased competition from imports, categories are a relative$ small part of of $61 million and earnings before The sale of D(L and Taylors is likely ant meal ofthe day, but changing con- private label and niche brands. the overall pordolio and weïe con- interest, tax, depreciation and amort- to lead to further job losses at SPC, sumption habits have prompted Coca- SPC managing director Reg Weine cluded that we are best to focus on the isation of $6.1million. Itwas the market which has undergone sþificant Cola Amatil's SPC unit to look for buy- says the companyis growing sales and areas where we have a distinct compet- leader in the $116 million fruit spreads restructuring over the last three years ers for is iconic D(L Jam business. market share in three of its four divi- itive advantage," Mr Weine said. sector with about 30 per cent, just after receiving million rescue .We a $22 When Tasmaniau HenryJones foun- sions - tomatoes, packaged fruit, and have a great sense of responsi- ahead of Cottees, which was at that package from the Victorian govern- ded DO ("I excel in ever¡hing I do") in baked beans and spaghetti. bility in ensudng these heritage brands stage owned by Cadbury Schweppes. mentin2014. Hobart in 1891, toast and jam was a '"fhe one catego¡y under pressure is findagoodhome." D(L is now the second-biggest jam DO and Taylors a¡e both processed brealdast staple. jam," Mr Weine told The Australian MrWeine has hired KPMG Co4Ér- braFd in Australia after Cottees, which þ Kyabram, a¡rd if the businesses are These days, consumers are moÍe FinancialRø¡iø¡¡. ate Finance to el€mine options for.a isíów owned byHeinz. sold SPCplans to consolidate manufac- likely to indulge in smashed avocado He said following the completion of a potential sale of the two br4nds and Coca{ola Amatil acquired DO and turing at Shepparton. on sourdough, acai bowls and kale $l00 million invesÍnent program co- expects strong interesl SPC acquired Taylors through the $700 million Under the $22 million funding pack- smoothies - or skip brealdast alto- founded by CCA and the Victorian gov- Henry Jones D(L and Taylors in May acquisition of SPC in 2005.