Mike Cannon-Brookes takes first win over Andrew Forrest with agreed $65 million funding deal for Sun Cable

Mike Cannon-Brookes has won an early victory in his bid to regain control of Sun Cable, with administrators opting to accept a $65 million interim funding proposal over an alternative offer lobbed by his rival for the company, Andrew Forrest. The deal came little more than an hour after FTI Consulting claimed it was still working on an agreement that was expected to be signed off in “the coming days”. Instead, Mr Cannon-Brookes’ flagship investment vehicle, Grok Ventures, said later Friday that the administrators had already accepted its proposal, which will keep the lights on at Sun Cable while they progress a sale or recapitalisation. “Grok Ventures has submitted an interim funding proposal totalling $65 million (including a six month interest free period) to Sun Cable’s administrations FTI Consulting, to allow the company to continue realising its strategy and reach key project milestones,” it said. “The Grok interim funding proposal - which was submitted alongside others - has been accepted by FTI Consulting and will be finalised in the coming days.” The company said the funding deal was indicative of its “ongoing commitment to the success of Sun Cable” and its Australia-Asia PowerLink project. The board of Sun Cable, headed by Mr Cannon-Brookes as chairman, opted to put the company into administration last week after a falling out with Mr Forrest over its plans to export renewable energy to Asia via a 4200km subsea cable from Darwin. Mr Forrest’s Squadron Energy has since described the export plan as unviable and instead expressed interest in refocusing the Australia-Asia PowerLink’s planned solar and battery development on the Australian domestic energy market. The collapse has sparked a war of words between the billionaires as they defended their roles in the failure and their conflicting strategies for Sun Cable. Neither could agree on alternative fundraising plans for Sun Cable, with Mr Cannon-Brookes and the board baulking at Mr Forrest’s proposal that Squadron take over management of the business, which he said was burning through too much cash. In Davos overnight for the World Economic Forum, Mr Forrest revived his criticism of Sun Cable’s management, while seemingly seeking to sheet home responsibility for the collapse on Mr Cannon-Brookes. “I’m friendly towards Mike, I’m not criticising it. They ran a very extravagant show, and then they didn’t seem to listen to their customer. So, when Mike wanted to put it into administration, we agreed,” Mr Forrest told media. Grok Ventures, declined to comment on Friday. However, it has said previously that there was no wish to put Sun Cable under but noted that directors were obliged to abide by their fiduciary duties. FTI’s lead administrator John Park said on Friday there had been strong interest in Sun Cable, as “demonstrated by the amount of media coverage and commentary made by stakeholders”. “As administrators we have looked to preserve the value of Sun Cable and keep all options for the future of the project on the table,” Mr Park said. “We will seek to crystalise the interest expressed in the future of Sun Cable into a firm offer for the benefit of creditors and other stakeholders via the sale process. “Ultimately, the successful bidder will have the opportunity to take the business forward in line with their vision.”

Mike Cannon-Brookes takes first win over Andrew Forrest with agreed $65 million funding deal for Sun Cable

The No. 1 source of news for every West Australian

Everyday Digital

Everyday Digital + Weekend Papers