CHAMP-backed Blue Star hires Unitas’ Philip Bower
Blue Star, the New Zealand printing firm owned by CHAMP Private Equity, has hired Unitas Capital's Phillip Bower as its new managing director.
Bower, who has also served as managing director at Australasia's largest food manufacturer, Goodman Fielder, and manufacturing group MCK Group, replaces Chris Mitchell in the role.
Nick Greiner, Blue Star chairman, told ProPrint that Bower will lead the business in delivering on the program that was laid out with the firm's bondholders earlier in the year. "It is obvious that we chose him for his experience in business rather than an industry specific skill-set" he said.
A $25 million bail-out of Blue Star was approved at a meeting of around 200 of the firm's bondholders in August. Under the terms of the package, they agreed to write off NZ$32.5 million ($26.7 million) of interest on their $105 million worth of bonds.
CHAMP acquired an 84% stake in Blue Star for NZ$385 million in 2006. In March of this year, the investor made an additional capital contribution of an undisclosed amount.
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