ANZ today announced it had reached agreement with the liquidators of the Opes Prime group (Opes) and several other parties regarding a commercial proposal to settle claims made by the liquidators and the clients of Opes.
The settlement proposal involving all parties totals approximately $253 million in cash and other assets. ANZ understands that this represents a return of about 80 cents in the dollar by reference to close out positions based upon the dates established by the Federal Court.
The $253 million settlement pool is funded by:
- contributions from ANZ
- contributions from Merrill Lynch (another financier to Opes)
- release to the liquidators of cash and other assets obtained by the receivers of Opes.
The agreement is subject to approval by Opes creditors through a scheme of arrangement to resolve all outstanding claims by Opes creditors against ANZ and other parties. ANZ expects implementation of the scheme of arrangement may take some months. It will ultimately require court approval to take effect. Provision was made for the uncertainties associated with securities lending in ANZ’s 2008 accounts.
http://anz.com.au/aus/shares/default.asp
