FAILED waste treatment solutions company Environmental Solutions International has been sold to Tenix Alliance.
A Tenix spokesman said it would be continuing the projects ESI was already involved with.
Tenix had been working with ESI on a couple of projects, including the renewal of the Bega Sewer-age facility.
The Tenix spokesman said the company planned to leverage itself into the areas ESI had carved out for itself.
“ESI has a good capability and a lot of synergies to what we’re doing,” he said.
However, the spokesman said there were some legal questions to be answered, such as what happens with the joint and several administrators ESI’s old board had appointed.
Administrator Bryan Hughes of Pitcher Partners, the administrator appointed to ESI, said he was considering what the next step would be.
“I’m hoping the sale will leave me a company that can be recapitalised,” Mr Hughes said.
“There could still be some significant assets left.”
ESI’s board was chaired by former Anti Corruption Commission chief Terrence O’Connor, though its managing director, Denis Glennon, had retired in October.
ESI was put into receivership on November 17 by the Common-wealth Bank of Australia.
The bank’s appointment of McGrath Nichols partner Shaun Fraser and his colleague, Murray Smith, followed the collapse of a recapitalisation deal ESI had with Canadian-listed water purification company Zenon Environmental Inc.
Zenon had agreed to spend $2.6 million for a 35 million share allotment. It would also gain 55 million options that could be exercised within 12 months at 8 cents a share and a further 50 million options exercisable within two years at 9 cents a share, which could have been worth a further $4.9 million.
According to an announcement ESI made to the Australian Stock Exchange, Zenon backed out of the deal when an adjudicator appointed under the Victorian Building and Construction Indus-try Security of Payments Act determined that ESI should pay about $1.4 million into a separate account to secure a $2.2 million claim it had received from Belmadar Constructions.
The dispute related to work carried out on the Mildura West Water Treatment Plant in Victoria.
In the announcement ESI said: “Apart from a minor amount the claim is strongly disputed by ESI.
“Following advice from ESI’s legal representatives, ESI disputes many of the conclusions of law and fact arrived at by the adjudicator,” the company said.
In the announcement ESI said it was also pursuing a claim for liquidated damages against Belma-dar for up to $475,000.
ESI’s most highly touted product was its Enersludge, a process for converting wastewater sludge to fuel oil.
Its first Enersludge plant was installed at the Subiaco wastewater treatment facility in 1999-2000.
The $22 million facility is design-ed to process up to 25 dry ton-nes a day of sewage sludge, producing about 800 kilowatt hours of electricity for sale from each tonne of sludge produced.
