Robert Moodie and Geoffrey Davis from insolvency practitioner Rodgers Reidy were appointed join liquidators on 31 May. The company is listed as “Temporary Pty Ltd (formerly known as Macdonald & Masterson Printing Pty Ltd)”.

Rodgers Reidy’s Neville Rubinstein told ProPrint that it was still early days but a creditors’ meeting was due to take place on Tuesday 15 June.

“We haven’t been involved in the running of the business. We are still busy investigating the situation and looking at employee entitlements,” said Rubinstein.

Industry sources have told ProPrint that suppliers to Macdonald & Masterson are waiting on outstanding debts. Rubenstein said the debt situation would become clearer after the creditors’ meeting.

Southern Colour managing director Rod Dawson told ProPrint: “Southern Colour purchased the trading name, sales base and employed a number of key staff members from Macdonald & Masterson.

“After the completion of this transaction, other events not controlled or known by Southern Colour have seen a separate entity placed into voluntary wind-up,” added Dawson.

Dawson believed there would be no redundancies as there are said to be no staff working for the liquidated company.

He added that Southern Colour had not acquired any of the equipment, believed to include a five-colour Komori Lithrone 540 press and Heidelberg GTO 52, as well as a variety of pre-press and finishing equipment.

Macdonald & Masterson has been in operation since the 1930s. Brothers Peter and Harry Bounas purchased the company from Don Masterson in 1983. Peter Bounas is now employed in a sales position at Southern Colour.

The acquisition of Macdonald & Masterson was reported on 23 April, with the company and some of its 24 staff integrated into Southern Colour’s St Leonards site.

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