major must read news. How bad can this be? In December Multiplex...

major must read news.
How bad can this be? In December Multiplex informed the ASX that they had been paid $300m for their Stratford City project share. Now the contract has been cancelled with the purchaser of that share. I would like to know how MXG is going to repay that money plus any other loans they have from the Reuben brothers?

MXG ANNOUNCED:
'On Friday, 16 December 2005 (London time), Multiplex concluded
arrangements with entities associated with Simon and David Reuben
under which Multiplex has disposed of certain interests and rights in
relation to the Stratford project and Global Switch. The total
proceeds received by Multiplex were approximately A$300 million (GBP
127.5 million). Multiplex will maintain the potential to participate
in the development and construction opportunities in the Stratford
project.'

NOW THIS UNNOTICED NEWS ITEM ON FRIDAY NIGHT UK TIME:


Partnership ends for Stratford City
03 May 2006
MAJOR landholder for the key Stratford City development has stunned the business world with news it is to axe its partners in the £4 billion homes and commercial regeneration project.

A statement from London & Continental Railways (LCR) late on Friday stated that it has commenced the procedure to terminate its contract with Stratford City Developments Limited (SCDL), the company owned by Stanhope, Westfield, Multiplex and Aldersgate.

Termination, they claim, will ensure progress can be maintained on delivering the first phase of the development and the provision of the Olympic village for London 2012 and media centre.

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) immediately insisted the decision to end the contract will not affect the timetable or the budget necessary to build the facilities for the Games.

Stratford City Developments had been contracted to develop the 73-hectare site, but the partners have been in dispute.

Pat Coughtrey's story in full in this week's Recorder

REMEMBER THIS STORY FROM MARCH:Reubens loan millions to ailing Wembley firm

Nick Mathiason
Sunday March 26, 2006
The Observer


The billionaire Reuben brothers have loaned millions of pounds to Multiplex, the troubled Australian construction company that is building the new Wembley Stadium.
The loan will concern both the Football Association and investors in the quoted firm, who fear the building giant may be in financial difficulties. Multiplex has admitted that failing to deliver Wembley Stadium on time could cost it £183m.

The Observer has learnt that the Reubens lent a substantial sum of money to Multiplex as part of a deal last December which saw the Australian firm sell its 25 per cent interest in Stratford City - a key 73-hectare site that will be part of the London Olympic Games complex in 2012.

A Multiplex spokesman said: 'There's no denying that if you book this big a loss on Wembley, it's a matter of concern, but the Multiplex group is very strong. It's backed by a lot of capital and is essentially in a strong position because of the Australian exposure. If you look at how the shares have traded, they have not collapsed. Multiplex is not in danger of going under.'

It has also emerged that Multiplex's sale of its stake in Stratford entails pre-emption rights that would allow it to develop large chunks of one of the biggest regeneration projects in Britain. It still retains a partnership with the Reuben brothers at Stratford.

'This will infuriate the government,' commented a source close to the deal. 'They won't let that happen.'

There is already a furious row between the remaining Stratford consortium members - the Reubens, Westfield and Sir Stuart Lipton - who are in the throes of an acrimonious financial break-up. A settlement was expected this week but feelings are running so high that an agreement is now not expected for two weeks at least.

The row has embroiled London Mayor Ken Livingstone, who is set against the Reuben brothers controlling the site. He wants the Australian shopping centre developer Westfield to triumph. Lipton has agreed to sell his stake to the winner in a move which he hopes will reduce tensions.

Multiplex, meanwhile, has been widely blamed for causing the delay of the £757m Wembley Stadium project. The Australian firm was built up by John Roberts, but it was his son, Andrew, who persuaded him to expand aggressively into Britain five years ago. The move has been a financial disaster, provoking a seething family feud.

Two years ago Multiplex became the second-largest property developer in Britain. The company believed it could reinvent construction by being not only a developer but also a builder and investor. It is now looking to sell many of its UK holdings.




Livingstone joins the battle of Stratford

Nick Mathiason on the repercussions of London's mayor entering the vicious dispute between Australia's Westfield and the billionaire Reuben brothers

Sunday March 26, 2006
The Observer


It's the clash of the tyc00ns. Simmering resentment between the billionaire Reuben brothers, veteran property developer Sir Stuart Lipton and Australian shopping-centre owner Westfield has erupted into outright war.
A 73-hectare parcel of land, which is key to the delivery of the 2012 Olympic Games in east London, is at the centre of a multi-billion-pound tug of war that has now got London Mayor Ken Livingstone controversially involved.

The Mayor does not want the David and Simon Reuben to win the right to develop what is known as Stratford City. The land is owned by London & Continental Railways. On it, 5 million sq ft of offices, 5,000 new homes, 1.5m sq ft of retail space and 2,000 hotel rooms are planned over the next 20 years.

The Mayor accuses the Reubens of not having a track record in development and only being interested in 'asset stripping'. This is something the Reubens, who say they have a 20-year record of property trading and are 'long-term players', strenuously deny.

But Livingstone last week told the Reubens to 'go back to Iran and try their luck with the ayatollahs'. The trouble is the Reubens were born in Mumbai to Iraqi parents of Jewish descent. The Mayor, in a characteristically acerbic clarification, later apologised to the people of Iran for linking them with the Reubens.

The brothers are among the world's most powerful businessmen. Their wealth is put at more than £3bn. They made the vast bulk of their money in the Nineties, during the murky events that surrounded the fall of the Soviet Union, when state assets were sold at knock-down prices.

They are notoriously litigious, and details of the accumulation of their wealth, and how they managed to get their money out of Russia relatively unscathed, have never been fully revealed.

The Reubens and Westfield first came together after they bought property company Chelsfield, run by Elliot Bernerd, for £2bn. They were joined in this deal by troubled Wembley Stadium construction firm Multiplex.

Chelsfield held the development agreement on Stratford with Sir Stuart Lipton. Most of Chelsfield's assets were sold off, but a few key development projects remained. The most valuable and high-profile is at Stratford - especially after it became the centre of plans for the London Olympics.

The site will form part of the athletes' village, and key infrastructure will have to go through Stratford City if the Games are to function efficiently. Last year, the Mayor threatened a compulsory purchase of the site if he could not get the required access.

Over recent months it has become clear that the leading parties in the consortium could not bear to work with each other. The disagreements have become so extreme that investment bank NM Rothschild, which advised the parties on the Chelsfield acquisition, is arbitrating in what has been described as a 'shoot-out' between Westfield and the Reubens.

Last December, Multiplex sold its 25 per cent stake to the Reubens, which gave the brothers half of the consortium's shares. Now Lipton has agreed to sell his 25 per cent stake to whoever wins out between the Reubens and Westfield.

Westfield this weekend said that it was prepared to bid for the whole development, keeping the retail part of the scheme for itself and bringing in other developers for the remainder of the site.

Multiplex would be in line to develop Stratford City if the Reubens win control. The arrangement is part of the deal that saw the Australian firm sell its Stratford shares to the Reubens.

This prospect has appalled members of the consortium mindful of the ongoing problems at Wembley Stadium.

One senior member of the Stratford City consortium pointedly said: 'Would you want Multiplex to build your garden shed?'

The Stratford shoot-out is expected to take place this week. But the parties still cannot agree on the process and it may now rumble on for a fortnight more.

If the Reuben brothers win the battle they will then have to deal regularly with Livingstone. And that will make for a gunfight at the 'OK' City Hall.