MF Live Inc., the company behind the Roxodus music festival that was cancelled days ahead of the Ontario event, on Friday, according to posted on the website of accounting and business advisory firm Grant Thornton LLP.
In documents signed by Fabien Loranger, MF Live Inc.listed cash assets totalling just over $154,000, and said it . According to the documents, more than $7 million was owed to more than 185 unsecured creditors, while another $11.1 million was owed to contractor ., for which Loranger is on the Fort Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce site.
Loranger is the director for one of Taurus鈥� subsidiaries, Taurus Investment Group Inc., which was among the companies that to hold the event. Taurus owns the land on which part of the festival was supposed to be held.
The big four-day classic rock festival was to take place from lastThursday to Sunday at Evandale Aerodrome in Clearview Township near Barrie, Ont., but was cancelled on July 3.
According to the firm Grant Thornton, the designated bankruptcy trustee, MF Live鈥檚 鈥渟ole purpose鈥� was to organize the Roxodus event, and it was their understanding that the event was cancelled because it to cover the expected costs. The trustee said wet weather also made preparations challenging and prevented organizers from being able to host a safe event. The trustee said more information would be provided in the preliminary report to creditors.
Even before the plug was pulled, vendors like Skydive Wasaga, which operates out of the Evandale airport, suspected things were not coming together as expected.
鈥淎bout six weeks to a month out, I guess I kind of noticed a slowdown. And two weeks out, there was nothing,鈥� Leslie Farkas, who runs Skydive Wasaga, told CTV鈥檚 Your Morning, adding that he did not believe the problems were weather-related.
Concertgoers, some travelling from overseas, paid more than $639, excluding taxes and fees, for a four-day VIP pass to see artists including Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Kid Rock, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Blondie, and Nickelback perform. Attendees wanting to camp at the event forked over as much as $1,600 for a lakeside spot.
Meanwhile, companies like Eventbrite Inc, which has said it would refund tickets purchased through itssite, are , according to the creditor documents. Other notable creditors include Star Security, which is owed more than $500,000. Nature鈥檚 Call and Porta Kleen, two portable toilet rental firms, are owed more than $250,000 and $84,000 respectively.
The Township of Clearview is listed as being owed more than $6,700, but the town鈥檚 mayor said last week the total could exceed $25,000. Skydive Wasaga is not on the creditors鈥� list, but Farkas says MF Live repeatedly reassured him itwould compensate his company for any lost business and said a compensation agreement had been drawn up by lawyers.
Officials are also now investigating MF Live, which could face fines and charges following reports that wetlands were drained or filled and some 18 hectares of forest cleared without permits or prior approval.
The first creditors鈥檓eeting will be held on July 30 in Toronto, with notices sent out to all creditors on Monday.
