Alan Bond Resigns as Holdings Firm Fights for Survival : Australia: He gives up the reins of his corporate empire. Peter Lucas is named chairman of the board.

Alan Bond, Australia’s most talked about and resilient entrepreneur, finally threw in the towel today after months of tenacious fighting to try to salvage his once-mighty corporate empire.

Bond resigned as chairman and director of Bond Corp. Holdings Ltd., the company he founded, which has fallen victim to financial problems stemming from a heavy debt load.

Bond Corp. said in a statement that two other directors, Tony Oates and Peter Mitchell, also resigned as senior executives. It said Peter Lucas had accepted an appointment as the new chairman of the board of directors.

Bond, Oates and Mitchell will act as consultants to the company until its proposed brewery sale and capital restructuring is completed, Bond Corp. said.

A spokesman said that after the restructuring and brewery sale are completed, Bond, Oates and Mitchell will play no further role in the company “in the direct management sense.” Bond still retains a controlling interest in Bond Corp. through his private company, Dallhold Investments.

The resignation came earlier than expected. Bond said on July 20 that he would resign once European and British bond holders had accepted a Bond Brewing Holdings Ltd. buyback offer. The offer has yet to be accepted.

Bond Corp., which reported an annual loss of 979 million Australian dollars ($815 million U.S.) for the 1988-89 financial year, has had to sell assets to reduce its crippling debt levels.

The brash, flamboyant Bond rose rapidly from humble roots--his first job was as a sign painter at 14--by investing in land around Perth and taking advantage of rapidly rising property values. With a flair for picking the best development sites and promoting them well, he had made his first million dollars by 1969 at age 29.

He rode out the 1987 stock market crash on strong cash flow from his beer assets. But the man who built a fortune by making the most of borrowed funds has been plagued by heavy debts, rising interest rates and bad business decisions.

The combination alienated his bankers and creditors, put his Australian brewing interests into receivership and forced him to sell assets ranging from a Hong Kong development office to a coal mine.

Unlike business rival Robert Holmes a Court, who died recently from a heart attack, Bond maintained a high public profile. He probably is best known for financing the Australian sailing team’s stunning triumph over the United States in the 1983 America’s Cup race.