Commission expected to re-examine prospectus.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) will investigate the failure of Dick Smith and identify what went wrong. The revelation was made during the ASIC Annual Forum, which began on Monday, when questions were put to ASIC chairman Greg Medcraft, and commissioners Peter Kell, Cathie Armour, John Price (pictured) and Greg Tanzer.
Price said the regulator was “making a number enquiries as to the reason why Dick Smith failed as it did.” The prospective disclosure is an area the Commission will re-examine, although the amount of risk disclosure in the prospectus document was “very substantial,” according to Price.
The corporate regulator and Anchorage Capital have since been called before a parliamentary committee over the collapse of the electronics retailer.
Medcraft told the forum there was an issue in terms of “administered trust and confidence.”
However, Armour noted that it was a “big step” to jump to a conclusion and link the collapse to the private equity transaction three years ago.
“We need to wait and see. We can point to many successful businesses that have floated that were owned by private equity as well,” she added.