Situation

FTI Consulting was appointed as Administrators and subsequently as Liquidators of Queensland Nickel. Once on the job, various anomalies were discovered which required an investigation jointly led by FTI Consulting’s corporate finance, forensic and e-discovery experts. With the situation quickly deemed one of Australia’s largest corporate failures and Clive Palmer, a larger than life character at the helm, the Administrators with guidance from Strategic Communications professionals launched a proactive communications approach. This addressed the political landscape and various agendas with key stakeholders, including employees and clients of Queensland Nickel, government authorities, creditors and the media.

Queensland case study
Video: In one of Australia’s largest corporate collapses, FTI Consulting deployed a team to chase missing assets and help employees and creditors recoup millions.

Our Role:

  • Corporate Finance & Restructuring: As administrator, FTI Consulting assumed control of Queensland Nickel’s assets and business operations while working to identify key risks, stabilize operations and implement controls over expenditures. Concurrently, the team surfaced opportunities to implement operational improvements, cost savings and rationalization to determine the true financial position of the enterprise.
  • Forensic & Litigation Consulting and Technology: In our role as Administrator and subsequently as Liquidator, various anomalies were discovered. Issues were investigated in full by our forensic and e-discovery experts, and the recovery of assets was pursued determinedly. These covered statutory investigations, the ownership of Queensland Nickel joint venture and Palmer Aviation assets, loans and transactions with related parties, and material donations and gifts, among other items.
  • Strategic Communications: We played a critical role in ensuring that a proactive rather than defensive communications approach to addressing the political landscape and outside agendas was employed with key stakeholders, including employees and clients of Queensland Nickel, government authorities, creditors and the media.

Our Impact:

  • FTI Consulting provided unmatched expertise from acting in the role of Administrators to bringing forensic and e-discovery capabilities to the investigation and providing end to end communications support.
  • FTI Consulting coordinated the assessment and distribution of payments of approximately AU$70 million to nearly all 787 Queensland Nickel employees.
  • The actions of our experts led to recouping approximately AU$200 million owed to more than 1,500 creditors.