Bruce Judge, whose companies Judge Corp and Ariadne were symbols of the 1987 sharemarket boom and crash, has re-emerged from corporate exile in Australia.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Judge has emerged from 14 years of obscurity to take a controlling stake in ailing Australian stain-removal and detergent company Big
Kev's.
The news sparked a surge reminiscent of the 1980s boom in the shares of the near-dead listed company.
The shares surged to life on Tuesday on news that Theseus Capital, a private company headed by Judge, had bought eight million shares. The price tripled from 5Ac (5.6NZc) to close at 15Ac, having touched 28Ac during the day. And yesterday, the shares continued their climb to close 8Ac up at 23Ac - or almost 500 per cent overall.
Big Kev's was founded by Gold Coast property developer turned cleaning products salesman Kevin McQuay. The company has been in the red for most of its short, listed life and its shares, issued at 50Ac, have never performed.
"There's not much left in the shell of Big Kev's but at least it's clean," Judge said. "So I've taken this on and I'm in the public limelight. I'm determined this will be done very, very well."
Judge transformed Ariadne from a loss-making Brisbane quarry into a billion-dollar conglomerate before presiding over a then-record Australian loss of A$640 million in 1988, a result that led to a public inquiry and his resignation.
In New Zealand, Judge Corp collapsed with debts around $350 million.
Judge, a devout Christian who has spent most of the past decade in France with his wife and two daughters, was investigated but never charged with any offence.
Several entrepreneurs on both sides of the Tasman who ran similar types of investment companies, including Alan Bond of Bond Corp and Allan Hawkins of Equiticorp, spent time in jail for fraud.
Hawkins also rehabilitated himself from corporate exile this year.
He had taken executive and financial control of listed company Rocom Wireless, whose shares also surged on news of his elevation.
The Sydney Morning Herald said Judge distinguished himself from other entrepreneurs by running into financial difficulties even before the 1987 stockmarket crash.
McQuay said he had sold eight million of his 14.2 million shares to Judge and was resigning as chairman, chief executive and managing director.
Big Kev's Australian-made cleaning products have failed to find a wide market since its 2001 float and are not expected to feature prominently in the company's future.
Judge plans to remove Big Kev's name and change its business from stain removal to niche lending.
He was philosophical about his past.
"It's one of those experiences I've learned a lot from and it prepares me better for what I've got ahead."
A former New Zealand hockey Olympian, he was one of Sir Ron Brierley's acolytes in the halcyon days of Brierley Investments in the 1970s.
- NZPA
Bruce Judge, whose companies Judge Corp and Ariadne were symbols of the 1987 sharemarket boom and crash, has re-emerged from corporate exile in Australia.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Judge has emerged from 14 years of obscurity to take a controlling stake in ailing Australian stain-removal and detergent company Big
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