Qintex Ltd. was an Australian financial services company founded in 1975 as Takeovers, Equities & Management Securities. It was renamed Qintex Ltd and came to prominence in 1986, collapsing five years later in 1991. Its main shareholder and Managing Director was Christopher Skase. Qintex was made up of several companies, including Qindex Limited, Qintex Australia, Qintex Entertainment, and Qintex Productions. At its peak, Qintex owned interests in 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 and Sons. In 1986, the company invested in an entertainment company named Qintex 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
The first signs of collapse showed in October 1989, when the American subsidiary filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after Qintex failed to provide financing for a debt payment. The Australian Stock Exchange suspended Qintex's stock shortly after when the company failed to respond to questions of its financial health. A month later, in November 1989, Qintex Ltd went into receivership with debts of over A$1.9 billion. The collapse happened just six weeks after the company lost a bid to acquire MGM/UA studios for A$1.5 billion. 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 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.
