Qintex

Qintex Ltd. was an Australian-American company that came to prominence during/in 1986, until its collapse in 1991. Its main shareholder and Managing Director was Christopher Skase. In 1986, Takeovers, Equites & Management Securites (TE&MS) got renamed Qintex (Qintex Limited/Qintex Ltd./Qintex Entertainment/Qintex Productions).

At its peak, Qintex owned interests in the Australian Television Network (Channel 7), Mirage Resorts, Hardy Brothers jewellery retail concern and a number of other businesses.

Its headquarters was in Brisbane, Australia.

History

Christopher Skase and his partners established a company in 1975 that subsequently gained control of Qintex.

He expanded the company substantially, initially into retail with investments in Hardy Bros and car dealer Nettlefolds. Qintex also expanded into property development.

In 1984, Qintex bought TVQ-0, a Brisbane television station. Later Qintex purchased HSV-7 and ATN-7 from John Fairfax. In 1986, the company invested in an entertainment company named Qintex Entertainment (today Sonar Entertainment), formed by the merger of American studios Hal Roach Studios and Robert Halmi Incorporated.

In 1989, the company was struggling to meet interest payments and sold a share in their Mirage Resorts for in excess of $433 million.

Collapse

Its collapse was prompted by what was later seen as an excessive amount of debt in the business.

This coincided with very high interest rates that prevailed in maybe 1989. When the company missed interest payments and was not able to renegotiate its position with the Commonwealth Bank, the bank appointed a receiver to the company.

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