The Hyflux saga has come to a head, with the High Court ruling yesterday that the water treatment firm will be put under judicial management.
This means that Hyflux founder Olivia Lum and the rest of the board will no longer be in control of the company. Appointed judicial manager Borrelli Walsh has taken over the firm's operations.
TIMELINE OF KEY EVENTS
• Feb 23, 2017: Hyflux's Tuaspring power and desalination plant fails to turn a profit.
• Feb 27, 2018: It reports a net loss of $116.4 million for FY2017.
• May 22, 2018: Hyflux files for bankruptcy protection, gets automatic 30-day moratorium. All shares and securities trading is suspended.
• April 2019: Hyflux's $530 million rescue deal with Indonesian consortium SM Investments falls through.
• April 16, 2019: Financial regulators announce review of Hyflux's disclosure and accounting practices.
• May 18, 2019: National water agency PUB takes over Tuaspring desalination plant.
• Nov 26, 2019: Hyflux reaches agreement with Middle Eastern utility firm Utico over $400 million rescue deal.
• May 29, 2020: Hyflux says rescue deal with Utico has "ceased" as the restructuring agreement's long-stop date had lapsed on May 26.
• June 2, 2020: The Singapore authorities say they are investigating Hyflux over corporate governance breaches. Among the directors under probe is Hyflux's executive chairman Olivia Lum.
• July 9, 2020: Hyflux gets a new $485 million cash and stock offer from Middle Eastern utility firm Utico.
• July 27, 2020: A group of bank lenders succeed - on their second try - in getting the High Court's approval to file an application to put Hyflux under judicial management.
• August 4, 2020: Utico extends the deadline of its proposed rescue deal for Hyflux, this time by a month.
• Oct 14, 2020: The application hearing by the unsecured working group of banking creditors to put Hyflux under judicial management is adjourned by the High Court.
• Nov 16, 2020: The High Court rules that Hyflux will come under judicial management with immediate effect.
