The Official Receiver in Insolvency has taken over the management of cash-strapped Multiple Hauliers E.A. Ltd following the appointment of the State agency as administrator of the distressed transport and logistics company.
The office is a department under the Business Registration Service, a semi-autonomous government agency under the Office of the Attorney General and Department of Justice.
In a notice to the public, the Official receiver invited claims against the transport firm and cautioned that no action could be taken against the company without the consent of the administrator.
“Any claims against the company are required to be sent to the undersigned administrator of the company through filing their proof of debts,” the notice said.
In a ruling last month, High Court judge Alfred Mabeya directed the official receiver to conclude a deal with a South African investor, who has agreed to pump billions into the company.
The judge said the official receiver should oversee the completion of agreements between the company and the South African investor and also oversee the smooth takeover by the investor by December 2024.
“In view of the foregoing and having in mind that there are only four months to the conclusion of the deal that would favour all the creditors, I am satisfied that this is a proper case to exercise the discretion in favour of extending the orders in force,” said the judge.
Justice Alfred Mabeya appointed the official receiver to be administrator of the company after being informed the NCBA-appointed administrators resigned in April.
The court noted that three investors expressed interest in the logistics company and were willing to inject sufficient capital to help pay the creditors.
“From the record, one of the investors, Amava Group Capital (Pty) Ltd of South Africa has signed a Time-Sheet with the Company on 29/5/2024. The precondition to the timesheet is a guarantee of US $ 8.5 million,” noted the judge.
The judge said the official receiver should file his report in court and advise the creditors on the progress every 60 days.
His first report is to be on or before November 14, 2024, the court said.
The court was informed that the firm was indebted to the tune of Sh14 billion with creditors including NCBA Bank (Sh7.2 billion), Synergy Credit Limited (Sh532 million), KCB Kenya and Co-operative Bank (Sh1.2 billion), and National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Sh6.9 million.
