IT is an unexpected pairing, to say the least. Nick Tana, the former soccer club owner and fast food magnate teaming up with Gordon Martin, the industrialist who is chancellor of Curtin University of Technology.
IT is an unexpected pairing, to say the least.
Nick Tana, the former soccer club owner and fast food magnate teaming up with Gordon Martin, the industrialist who is chancellor of Curtin University of Technology.
But a mutual interest in forestry assets has drawn them together in a joint pitch to take control of the management of failed MIS promoter Great Southern's blue gum plantations.
Even in a relatively small place like Western Australia, both men occupy starkly different spheres of influence and have never previously been connected by business.
What they do share, however, is entrepreneurial flair at its very best.
Mr Gordon's mainstay has been Coogee Chemicals, a national player in the sector's production and logistics, but he also dabbled successfully elsewhere, such as the sale of his 60 per cent stake in Coogee Resources for an estimated $366 million to Thailand's PTTEP.
The key asset was the Montara oil field operations, which came to national prominence during the recent oil spill. BRW put Mr Martin's wealth at more than $500 million earlier this year.
Mr Tana's wealth is less documented but he certainly sits comfortably among the state's richest people. Best known as the financier of soccer club Perth Glory at the peak of its powers, he built his fortune on fast food.
In early 2007 he sold Australian Fast Foods, which operated Chicken Treat and Red Rooster, to a private-equity backed management buyout for $180 million.
He has a series of agricultural assets including vegetable exporter Sumich, West Hills Farm and North East Equity (both of which own farmland north of Perth), not to mention tree and olive plantations of his own.
Most importantly for the deal with Mr Martin, he brings most of the forestry management, production and marketing expertise via a 25 per cent interest in Hansol PI and 50 per cent stake in Pulpwood International. Via these latter assets, Mr Tana and Gary Inions have an existing joint venture with Great Southern in a woodchip mill at Bunbury.
The joint venture between Mr Martin and Mr Tana, Pulpwood Plantations, wants to see an independent group, Primary Securities, appointed as the responsible entity for Great Southern's managed investment schemes and is seeking grower backing to dump the existing arrangement at a meeting on December 10.
Great Southern collapsed earlier this year owing banks an estimated $600 million.
Mr Martin announced an earlier bid to win the growers over but postponed a previous vote to give Great Southern receivers time to muster other proposals and allow investors more choice.
He said additional bids expected from Tasmania's Gunns and the Tony Jack-led Black Tree Proprietary had not eventuated.
“That was seven weeks ago. We cancelled the meeting but there's not been any other offers," Mr Martin said, adding that the delays could erode the value of the assets.
Under the revised offer, growers in the 1998 to 2003 schemes would get a bigger slice of the net proceeds of timber sales. In addition, Mr Martin said the 2004 and 2007 schemes would also be made an offer, subject to a successful vote from the earlier scheme growers. Previously the later schemes would have been excluded.
Mr Tana said his company was already engaged as a consultant and contractor to Mr Martin but they decided to become partners after looking more deeply into the proposal.
“As time went on we gained more confidence, we thought it was good strategy," he said.
