Australia’s Bond Corp. Loses Court Battle

Entrepreneur Alan Bond’s embattled flagship Bond Corp. Holdings Ltd. lost a major battle today when it failed to persuade a court to lift its prized Australian breweries out of receivership.

Justice Barry Beach ruled in Victoria’s Supreme Court after a monthlong case that Bond Brewing Holdings should remain under control of a court-appointed receiver.

Bond Corp., caught up in a morass of legal action and burdened with $4.9 billion in debt, said it will appeal the decision as soon as possible. Its key Australian breweries, including Fourex and Swan, said they will apply for a stay of the ruling pending an appeal.

Peter Lucas, a Bond Corp. director, said before the judgment that the receivership order, obtained by a bank syndicate led by National Australia Bank, could have a domino effect and lead to the collapse of the rest of the media and property empire.

The judge ruled that the syndicate, owed $530 million by Bond Brewing, was entirely justified in seeking the receivership order, which was granted Dec. 29.

He said Bond Brewing deliberately tried to keep people with any knowledge of the Bond group’s affairs away from court, and said he found it extraordinary that Bond Brewing had excluded relevant material from the case.

The company’s U.S. breweries, including Wisconsin’s G. Heileman Brewing Co., were not included in the receivership order.

In a separate development, Bond Media, which is 51% owned by Bond Corp., won a reprieve from immediate repayment of a $275-million loan.

The bank syndicate agreed not to take further action to recover the money until March 28. National Australia took Bond Media to court last week to demand immediate repayment.