Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Refco Inc.'s creditors moved to block the sale of the company's foreign-exchange unit to an electronic currency-trading firm, saying the prospective buyer simply wants to "flip those assets to an outside investor at a huge profit."
In court papers, the creditors said Forex Capital Markets LLC shouldn't be permitted to buy Refco FX Associates LLC - even though an attempted auction attracted no rival bids for the unit. They said Refco would be better off if it simply "wound down" Refco FX and put its "very valuable" 35 percent stake in Forex Capital Markets up for sale.
Forex Capital Markets, also known as FXCM, caters exclusively to online retail investors. Refco is a minority partner in the business. After Refco filed its Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition amid an accounting scandal last October, FXCM said it began to look for ways "of replacing Refco as a joint-venture partner."
FXCM offered $110 million for the Refco FX's assets - including Refco's stake in FXCM - but ran into opposition from Refco creditors. The delayed acquisition, it said in a letter to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan late Thursday, is hurting FXCM's business. In January alone, FXCM said it lost $13.7 million.
FXCM asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain to let the firm complete its purchase of Refco FX before an April 21 deadline. It said it needs "significant lead time to be prepared for a closing," and accused Refco's creditors of "attempting to use delay for tactical advantage."
Refco's creditors committee said FXCM's purchase offer was unacceptably low, and that it would provide only about $40 million in cash to Refco FX creditors. |
樓主: everok
發表於 2006-2-18 05:47:08
