(4 February 2010 – Australia) ANZ has suffered an A$18 million blow after one of Victoria’s largest civil contracting groups, Akron, collapses.According to a report released by The Daily Telegraph, the directors of Akron called in administrators on Monday.
ANZ, Akron’s banker, will most likely try to recover around A$19.2 million from the construction giant’s parent company, Norka Holdings, for construction indemnities run up by Akron Roads, Shelbay and two other companies, the Daily Telegraph reported.
An ANZ spokesman said that the bank believes they are adequately provisioned; it is also believed that the bank reduced its exposure to the company to less than A$18 million.
Between NAB, ANZ and Westpac, company documents indicate that more than A$2.5 million in road building machinery is mortgaged.
The administrator’s, Taylor Woodings, are to investigate the financial affairs of the group ahead of a creditors’ meeting next Thursday.