The Ontario Superior Court approved three requests from the receiver in the Bridging Finance Inc. case in a hearing held Wednesday.
The receiver in the case, PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. (PwC), sought a deadline extension for its sale process from Dec. 31 to Feb. 28, 2022. PwC cited the “complexity” of the bids for BFI assets as well as the time required to “independently assess and negotiate such bids” with counsel that has been appointed to represent investors in the case.
PwC also asked the court for permission to allow investors who need to convert their RRSPs into RRIFs to transfer their BFI units, despite the fact that the receiver has been unable to determine a net asset value (NAV) for those funds.
The receiver noted that the Canada Revenue Agency has agreed to allow such transfers to take place on the condition that, once a NAV is available, it will be used to determine the fair value of the transferred units as of Jan. 1.
As well, PwC asked for approval to allow the transfer of units from deceased investors to their heirs or their estates.
Chief Justice G.B. Morawetz approved all three requests, as well as a report from PwC dated Dec. 15.
Following a hearing on April 30, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice appointed PwC as receiver and manager for BFI and various investment vehicles controlled by the firm, which collectively represented approximately $2 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2020.
Court filings from earlier this month indicate losses could top $580 million on a loan book valued at more than $1.6 billion as of Oct. 31.