THE HIGH Court was on Wednesday reduced to an auction floor after two companies started bidding to buy a Victoria Falls-based firm which owns Matetsi Water Lodge during a liquidation meeting.
Acting liquidator for Hathanay Investments, Kenias Mutyasira, told the court that at the previous meeting, four bids were received with the highest one being from Matetsi Hungwe Safari amounting to $1,2 million.
“It is clearly the liquidator’s intention to accept the highest bidder,” Mutyasira who was representing liquidator Winsley Militala said. John Gardiner of Cold Chain was among the bidders who had initially offered $1,010 million for the company, but upped his bid during the meeting at the High Court which was attended by creditors. Matetsi Hungwe Safari’s bid of $1,750 million won the day after Cold Chain stopped bidding at $1,710 million.
Matetsi, represented by Muzenda and Partners was asked to submit a bank guarantee for its bid. Among the creditors, were elated employees who were owed $943 500.
Hathanay Investments also owns Matetsi Water Lodge, a unit under the Rainbow Tourism Group (RTG) which was placed under provisionally liquidation at the beginning of this year after failing to settle salary arrears.
Hathaway is a nominee company under RTG and has faced serious operational problems since ending its management agreement with &Beyond (Pty) Ltd to manage Matetsi Water Lodge in 2011. RTG has been trying to sell Matetsi off, but has struggled to secure a buyer.
The business, a group of three romantic lodges: West Water, North Water and East Water along the Zambezi River, has been on sale for the past two years as RTG was disposing of its safari and tours operations.
— The Source
