#DOCTOR DOOM FREEFALL PLUS#
#DOCTOR DOOM FREEFALL FREE#

'We're selling a major asset on the international market, dealing with the largest corporation in New Zealand and an offshoot of the Chinese Government, with all the interest and peculiarities that brings.' Does dealing with the Chinese Government intimidate him? 'No there's no reason.' Why did he get the job? He is ideal, says fellow insolvency expert John Vague, of McDonald Vague and Partners. 'This job has got everything to make it exciting,' he says from Ferrier Hodgson's workmanlike Queen St offices overlooking the Devonport ferries. Fletcher Forests, on the other hand, is rumoured to be trying to get rid of its Chinese partner altogether. The two partners fell out completely, the partnership hasn't performed well and receivership is seen as a way of resolving the situation.' Citic, an arm of the Chinese Government, is seeking millions of dollars in damages from Fletcher Forests through the courts. Says investment analyst Brian Gaynor: 'This is more of a technical receivership. Analysts say that, at around $1.6 billion, it is the biggest receivership New Zealand has seen, and one of the most complex. Late last month, a syndicate of 12 banks appointed Mr Stiassny and partner Grant Graham to take on a stoush between Citic and Fletcher Forests. This year, Mr Stiassny's company, Ferrier Hodgson, topped New Zealand's annual review of receiverships, handling 22 insolvent companies.

'People tremble at the knees, because if he appears in your organisation, there's something wrong,' says former Stock Exchange chairman Richard Flower.

#DOCTOR DOOM FREEFALL PLUS#

As a result, companies such as the doomed Fortex and the much luckier, and better managed, Corporate Investments - value virtually zero in the early 90s, now worth $1 billion plus as Montana - have tended to minimise the fact that Mr Stiassny, corporate accountant and insolvency specialist, was chiselling away at the accounts, firing directors, cutting up credit cards and deciding whether a business was worth saving.

#DOCTOR DOOM FREEFALL FREE#

A hint of his presence can start the sharks circling and send share prices into free fall. Is this corporate undertaker as black as he is painted? By CARROLL DU CHATEAU For 10 years the name Michael Stiassny has struck foreboding into Auckland business circles.

Insolvency expert Michael Stiassny has a reputation for being ruthless.

Doctor doom freefall