COURT BATTLE OVER REACON BUSINESSES

Vik Gulati, owner of south-west Sydney based Westmann Printing, has bought the beleaguered Reacon Group, as its print operation Reacon Australia and sister company mmw3degrees are in administration.

Gulati became a director of Reacon Group on Monday, when previous owners Jahinger Kahn and his wife resigned. Reacon Australia was put into administration a day later, as was the sister company mmw3degrees.

Print21 understands it is Gulati who has funded the administrator, Cathro and Partners. He is pushing for a DOCA for the two businesses. However, at least two creditors want the companies liquidated, and went to court this morning seeking a winding-up order.

After the Registrar spent time attempting to untangle the matter, with four sets of lawyers representing various parties, he adjourned the case until 9 May, which will be a week before the proposed second meeting of creditors.

Under a DOCA, all litigation is paused for the duration of the DOCA, and creditors have to wait for their share of whatever funds are agreed, if and when they become available. Employees, who would be creditors in this case, have to wait like everyone else. However, in a liquidation, staff can apply to the government's Fegs scheme for their entitlements to be paid, and creditors are paid out of whatever funds the liquidator can generate.

Reacon Group was acquired by Gulati’s investment vehicle Innovis Media Group. Print21 understands that Westmann Print was a six-figure creditor of Reacon. Westmann Printing is a subsidiary of The Saku Group, which is based in Delhi, India, and owned by Saurabh Gulati and Vinod Gulati.

Reacon’s Fujifilm 160 metres-a-minute high-volume continuous feed digital full-colour inkjet press is owned by Reacon Group. It was installed shortly after drupa, in the mmw3degrees facility in Regents Park.

Two months ago Jahinger Kahn’s wife, Evita Behl Kahn, became the owner and director of ACT’s National Mailing & Marketing. It was formerly, for a short time, a Reacon Group company, Reacon buying it from co-founder Lyndall Thielmann last year. Thielmann is still a director of the business.