Jeff Reynolds Backing Off From Bond Bid : Takeovers: The Texan said his bankers feared Bond’s woes were too much to take on. But Wall Street doubted his proposal from the start.

Investor Jeff Reynolds said Friday that he will probably withdraw his proposal to buy a majority stake in Bond Corp. Holdings Ltd., adding to widespread doubts that the little-known Texan had the muscle to rescue the ailing Australian empire.

“I’m not sure we will be going through with it,” he told Reuters in a telephone interview from his Houston residence.

“We came with too little, too late,” he said of his Bond offer, which met with widespread skepticism.

Reynolds, who had said he was interested in rescuing the debt-laden Australian brewing and media empire, was catapulted from a self-described “real private person” into the limelight of newspaper headlines around the world.

But little has been publicized about the 28-year-old Texan, who now resides in Los Angeles. And his Weatherby Investments Inc., of which he is chairman, is an obscure entity.

Los Angeles-based Weatherby, whose stock is traded over-the-counter, had said it would inject up to $195 million (A$250 million) in Bond Corp. to gain the controlling stake.

Weatherby said it hoped to restructure most of Bond Corp.’s debt with equity as well as debt placements and by selling certain non-core assets.

But Wall Street was skeptical. And the doubt soon spread.

International finance experts, lawyers, and finally Bond itself expressed concern over Reynold’s ability to raise the $3.13 billion total needed to bail out Bond.

And by Friday, Reynolds too seemed short of confidence.

“Our own bankers are starting to question (whether the bid should go ahead) because of Bond’s continuing debt status and escalating problems across the board,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds said he was the principal investor in both Weatherby Investments Inc. and its parent, Pacific California International Holdings Co. The units are investment vehicles rather than operating companies, whose low profiles have aroused suspicion.

Bond Corp. has been caught up in a morass of legal battles to stay on top of its $4.6 billion (A$6 billion) debt.

Last Friday, Bond Corp. successfully fought an attempt to liquidate the company. But it still faces demands from U.S. creditors to repay $510 million immediately. Bond’s Australian breweries were forced into receivership two weeks ago by its creditors.

The company is fighting in Australian courts to overturn the appointment of receivers. Bond Corp. is worried that if it loses, the receivership could trigger a disastrous domino effect as other creditors call in their loans.