Australia’s richest person, iron ore billionaire Gina Rinehart, has emerged as the biggest loser in the collapse of Xanadu the Musical, which was halted on April 10 after poor ticket sales.
According to a report in The Australian, Rinehart’s private company Hanrine is owed $2.3 million from the collapse of the musical.
Administrators Con Kokkinos and Paul Burness from Worrells Solvency and Forensic Accounting, who were appointed to the failed show on April 4, held a creditors meeting in Melbourne yesterday.
A group of about 20 creditors are owed $3 million, making Rinehart easily the largest creditor.
The musical, based on the hit 1970s film starring Olivia Newton John, which was supposed to play in Melbourne for 10 weeks before going on a national tour, was halted after ticket sales failed to cover running costs.
Creditors were told yesterday the show has just $150,000 in assets, meaning any returns to creditors are likely to be small.
”There was a shortage of funds to allow the show to continue beyond Sunday,” Kokkinos told The Age.
“We are exploring the possible sale of the show, so it can continue or transfer the rights.”
The show was being staged by producers Mark Pennell and Phillip Corr through a company called Ventnor Entertainment Services.
Rinehart’s company Hanrine was also a shareholder in Ventnor.
A second creditors meeting for the musical will be held on May 11.
While Rinehart, worth $9 billion, is best known for her Hancock Prospecting mining empire, in the last 12 months she has spread her wings into other sectors.
Most notably, she emerged with a 10% stake in Ten Network on November 10 and will also sit on the company’s board.
Rinehart then established a smaller stake in newspaper and radio group Fairfax Media.
She is expected to top BRW‘s Rich 200 list when it is released in late May.
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
