Confusion over claims private equity firm plans to resurrect Kleenmaid brand

A small private equity firm’s plans to resurrect the Kleenmaid kitchen and whitegoods brand remains under a cloud, with the liquidator of the failed company seeking advice as to who actually owns the brand.

A small private equity firm called Compass Capital Partners claims it owns the brand after buying it from GE, which was a secured creditor of Kleenmaid, which collapsed in April with debts of $102 million.

According to a report in the Australian Financial Review, Compass now plans to start importing goods from Europe and North America, badging them as Kleenmaid products and selling them through retailers such as Harvey Norman.

“There’s nothing wrong with the brand or the products; the only thing wrong with this business was the business plans the previous owners had in place,” Compass director Gary Phillips told the paper.

But Deloitte, which is Kleenmaid’s liquidator, has some concerns about the deal. While the liquidator acknowledges that Compass and related parties have taken over GE’s charge over Kleenmaid, a spokesman says it is unclear whether a transaction has taken place that would have transferred the brand and intellectual property to Compass.

“We’re taking legal action as to what are the next steps and where we stand with this matter,” the spokesman says.

Deloitte is also concerned by suggestions that Kleemaid customer records have been transferred to a third party. The firm says it has received calls from several concerned former Kleenmaid customers, who claim to have been contacted by a group claiming they were resurrecting Kleenmaid.

“We want to reassure consumers that we haven’t sold their details or transaction records,” a Deloitte spokesman says.

A GE spokesman was not available for comment before publication.