Blue Star: nothing sinister in delisting, underlying position 'positive'

Blue Star's managing director has said he expects a sale by the end of November – and the group will change hands with its books in a healthy state.

Phillip Bower told ProPrint that last week's decision to delist its bonds from the New Zealand Exchange and thereby delay reporting its 2011-12 results was designed to protect stakeholders' interests rather than hide bad news.

Users took to the ProPrint forums to criticise the delisting, calling it "outrageous" and "an absolute disgrace"

Bower hit back and said the decision to delist and avoid publicising the value of the company was just common sense.

The ongoing sale process means Blue Star is obliged to include a company valuation in its accounts, said Bower.

If the company valuation was lower than the amount a buyer was willing to pay, it could mean a lower return for the company and its stakeholders.

"The only reason we're doing what we've done is because we don't want to damage the sale process, which is in the interest of all stakeholders," he said.

Bower told ProPrint that Blue Star "[couldn't] just delist the bonds for the sake of delisting them", but had to prove to the regulatory authorities that it was a reasonable act.

He said people would see the company had nothing to hide when it provided its results to regulatory authority Companies House by the end of November – although he added it would probably be academic as Blue Star looked set to be sold by then.

"As we've reported, the operating position of our underlying business continues to be profitable and very positive," he said.

Click here to read about the ups and downs of Blue Star