deal may be soon, page-5

Lets start with some facts:

MFS has always had cash flow problems - they are part and parcel of the Company.
They have over-stretched again this time - a very bad time to do it.
Their various funds businesses will suffer a lot and may not survive.
Their great asset is STella.
They paid about $1.4Bill for it.
They have been trying to sell it for about $3Bill. That is what they valued it at.
There is $900m debt secured with the STella businesses.
That debt will have to be paid out or be divided up with the parts of Stella sold. In addition Stella owes MFS an indeterminate amount - but probably about $1.4B less $900m, or about $500m. This complicates the deal.
Selling STella for about $3Bill would have been great except they chose the wrong time (in fact the worst), and the price was too high (they we too greedy maybe), but not a lot too high.
Stella is not in any way like Flight Centre. It is a major worldwide resort operator. The assets are amongst best real estate and resort businesses available. The valuations of those assets is going up not down.
MFS Limited is a complicated network of companies - something which should have been simplified long ago.
MFS NZ looks like a potential liability that could bring MFS Limited down.
The new CEO is highly regarded, and the best possible solution for MFS shareholders and the Company's survival will no doubt be worked out. That takes time.
Bad publicity and negative media reports should be dismissed until we see announcements of the new Board. That is all that matters now.
Can it be done - we just don't know - neither does the media, or anyone here.