Centro's a gonerFor those bold and foolhardy troopers with the...

Centro's a goner

For those bold and foolhardy troopers with the risk appetite to punt on a recovery in the beleaguered Centro Property Group, it may be worthwhile to know that the debt is more of a bargain than the equity.

The convertible notes are bid at 7 cents and offered at 15 cents, which makes them six times cheaper than the shares. Mind you, what this really indicates is that the equity is hardly worth a zac; at least not the 25 cents a share, which it still fetches.

Gallant newspaper reports of a takeover bid poised to swamp the market at $1 a share are perhaps not even fit to wrap the fish in now. But it is the price of the debt which is a worry. Were there any hope of a decent bet on Centro rebounding, the professional investors would be all over these notes. They were trading at 22 cents before the distribution was cancelled. She's a goner.

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