ATTEMPTS by business rescue practitioners to sell Optimum Coal Mines has run into yet another legal challenge, according to BusinessLive which referred to court papers in which Charles King, a Swiss firm, said it was entitled to buy the coal producer.
Despite not fulfilling all conditions, Charles King said in a founding affidavit delivered to the High Court in Pretoria, that it had paid a deposit of R66.7m for the company with only technical details accounting for a shortfall of R2.3m.
Charles King, which was created exclusively for the purpose of bidding for Optimum Coal Miens, also claims in the papers that the business rescue practitioners actively disparaged its bid with Gwede Mantashe, South African mines minister.
In responding documents, rescue practitioner Kurt Knoop said Charles King’s application was “fatally flawed” because it presented no evidence that the rescue practitioner had influenced the minister, and failed to explain why it did not fulfil this condition and six others, such as obtaining approvals from the competition authorities and power utility Eskom, said BusinessLive.
