The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) is heading to the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday to try and prevent the sale of assets of VR Laser Services.
City Press reported in July this year that VR Laser Services, one of eight Gupta family-owned companies under business rescue, have been “gutted”, according to the company’s former financial manager.
At the time the creditors voted for a controlled winding down of the company under the direction of the rescue practitioners after an offer from a company called Blain Capital Solutions to inject R11.7m fell through.
Numsa’s urgent application is against VR Laser Services, the two business rescue practitioners and other respondents including the Bank of Baroda and the SA Revenue Service (SARS).
Numsa, which has 146 members who had been employed by VR Laser until recently, wants the court to set aside the business rescue plan for VR Laser dated 11 June 2018 as a matter of urgency. The union also wants a creditors’ meeting to be convened to vote on the adoption of an amended business rescue plan.
The union, furthermore, wants to prevent the business rescue practitioners from holding an auction for the sale of the plant and machinery belonging to VR Laser, pending the outcome of the proposed creditors meeting. It also wants a halt on the disposal of any assets of VR Laser pending the outcome of such a proposed meeting.
In his founding affidavit for the application, Numsa secretary general Irvin Jim says, if the business rescue practitioners were to sell the VR Laser assets as intended on 20 September, it will render the company incapable of returning to a solvent footing, leading to the permanent loss of employment by the Numsa members.
According to Jim, a consortium has submitted an offer to the business rescue practitioners for the purchase of the shares of VR Laser. In terms thereof, the consortium will pay the debts of VR Laser in full, with one of the consequences, in Jim’s view, of saving the jobs of the Numsa members.
Jim claims the business rescue practitioners have refused to postpone the sale of the plant and machinery and refused to convene a meeting so that creditors can vote on the new business plan relating to the offer by the consortium.
Jim states that on 5 September Crede Capital, representing a consortium of investors, submitted its proposal to purchase. The consortium comprises the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), two Geneva-based hedge funds and Thata uBeke Manufacturing, trading as TUB and represented by Ntokozo Sabelo.
Source: eNCA
