One North Entertainment (formerly RGM Media) suspended from ASX [Mon 02/04/2012 11:52:10]
By Brendan Swift
Struggling production and talent company One North Entertainment has been suspended from the Australian Securities Exchange after failing to lodge its full year financial accounts.
The company, which was formerly known as RGM Media, is one of just four to have breached the ASX's listing rules in the current reporting period. Listed companies are required to lodge their accounts within 60 days of the December 31 year end.
One North also breached the ASX's listing rules twice last year when directors failed to adequately declare that an entity they controlled disposed of shares in the company.
The company floated on the ASX in mid-2010 but its grand plans to become a production house have floundered and it narrowly avoided closing in late-2011 after announcing a convertible bond issue. An independent expert said the terms of the deal were not fair for existing shareholders but the company had little choice.
One North had previously said it expected to have received revenues from its rights to the upcoming Point Break remake by December 2011, as well as further revenues from its production of Asia Apprentice.
The Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) - previously a supporter of the company - recently launched legal proceedings against One North subsidiary RGM Group Pte Ltd.
In a market update released last month, One North said the company will defend the legal proceedings, which relate to two collaboration agreements struck between the MDA, RGM Group Pte Ltd and private companies owned by former One North managing director Devesh Chetty.
"These matters, however, involve a significant degree of complexity," the One North statement said. "In addition, the long term relationship between the MDA and the company’s major shareholder (and former managing director) including the negotiations that led to the execution of the collaboration agreement, predates any involvement that One North or its subsidiary may have had with the MDA over the last 18 months. In these circumstances, the board acknowledges the inherent difficulties associated with expeditiously resolving these matters."
One North was originally a talent agency founded by Robyn Gardiner in the early 1980s, best known for representing acting clients such as Cate Blanchett.
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