Bill Express will execute a further standstill agreement with its key creditors for two months as it seeks to negotiate a restructure and capital injection.
The firm said in an announcement to the ASX yesterday that the Al Othman group, a Saudi investment firm, entered into an exclusivity agreement, while terms of an agreement "passed between the companies".
That sounds a long way short of a deal on the verge of being closed. Bill Express said it was taking advice from Investec and PPB on the restructure.
The firm said that it had "secured ongoing supply agreement for products and services", which means it may be able to continue to supply phone cards to its network of newsagents.
Whether any of the newsagents will make much more use of the equipment leased to them, and generate revenue for Bill Express, is less certain.
The Age today reported that newsagents claim that the lease agreement of their payment terminals has been transferred from Bill Express to a different company (Technology Business International Pty Ltd) without agreement, though it is registered to the same business address.
The newspaper also reports that officers of the Australian Federal Police were conducting inquiries at the firm's Eaglemont, Melbourne premises yesterday and that the inquiries relate to the transfer of funds into bank accounts not controlled by the public entity.