Private investment group HIG negotiated with itself to buy out part of the bankrupt childcare group Estro earlier this month, the NRC says on Thursday.

HIG took over most of the Estro daycare centres in a controversial ‘pre-pack deal’, a bankruptcy and restart agreed ahead of formal bankruptcy proceedings.

HIG was one of the owners of Estro before it went bust. ‘In a way, HIG was negotiating with itself,’ official receiver Wouter Jongepier is quoted by the NRC as saying.

Report

The first official report into the bankruptcy was published on Wednesday and shows HIG had ‘exclusive and lengthy’ opportunities to prepare its offer for parts of Estro. ‘The interest of third parties was not seriously looked at,’ the receiver says.

The NRC goes on to describe how Estro began paving the way for the restart last year under the name Project Butterfly after efforts to find new finance failed.

Jongepier says he plans to further investigate the lack of alternative bidders – a situation he describes as ‘curious’.

The restart allowed 250 of Estro’s 300 plus daycare centres to remain open and secured 2,600 out of 3,600 jobs.

In the end, it was the best option, Jongepier told the paper in a phone call. However, the exclusive position given to HIG could have been done better, he said.