Greiner concealment ends in $21m damages
Engineering group Bradken, its chairman Mr Greiner, and managing director Brian Hodges have been ordered to pay $US22.4 million ($A21.6 million) in damages to Swiss group Pala Investments, controlled by Russian oligarch Vladimir Iorich, which had accused them of bid-rigging.
In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Greiner, Mr Hodges and Bradken said they would appeal the Federal Court decision.
Mr Greiner, who is now chairman of Infrastructure NSW, is also a director of CHAMP, the Australian affiliate of US private equity outfit Castle Harlan.
In previous hearings, Pala had accused of Mr Greiner using his position at CHAMP to hoodwink Pala into selling mining parts manufacturer Norcast Wear Solutions at a lower price than it could have received.
Castle Harlan bought Norcast for $190 million in July 2011, before selling it to Bradken within seven hours for $202 million.
Appearing in the Federal Court in Victoria in September, Mr Greiner said he had chosen not to "promote" the fact that Bradken was ultimately behind the transaction, because the company had originally been rejected from a deal.
"Norcast had excluded us," Mr Greiner said at the time. "So the notion that we would fly a Bradken flag over the transaction doesn't make sense."
The court's judgment has not been made public because of commercially confidential details, which were to be agreed on between the two parties.
Pala on Tuesday would only say it was "delighted with the outcome".
Mr Greiner and Mr Hodges did not return calls on Tuesday.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
The Federal Court ordered engineering group Bradken, its chairman Nick Greiner and managing director Brian Hodges to pay US$22.4 million (A$21.6 million) in damages to Swiss group Pala Investments after a finding related to concealing involvement and alleged bid‑rigging. The defendants said they will appeal the decision.
Pala Investments is the Swiss group that brought the lawsuit, and the article says it is controlled by Russian businessman Vladimir Iorich.
Pala accused the defendants of bid‑rigging and of hoodwinking it out of millions by concealing the true parties behind a deal; the article notes Nick Greiner admitted to concealing his company's involvement in the transaction.
According to the article, private equity firm Castle Harlan bought Norcast Wear Solutions for $190 million in July 2011 and then sold it to Bradken within seven hours for $202 million — a transaction at the centre of Pala’s complaint.
Greiner told the court he chose not to "promote" the fact Bradken was ultimately behind the transaction because Norcast had originally excluded them, saying it "doesn't make sense" to flag Bradken over the deal; he also admitted concealing his company’s involvement.
No. The article says the court's judgment has not been made public because it contains commercially confidential details that were to be agreed on between the parties.
Pala said it was "delighted with the outcome." Bradken, Nick Greiner and Brian Hodges said they would appeal the Federal Court decision. The article also notes Greiner and Hodges did not return calls on the day.
The article notes Greiner is a former New South Wales premier, is chairman of Bradken, chairs Infrastructure NSW, and is a director of CHAMP, the Australian affiliate of US private equity firm Castle Harlan.
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