Steinhoff gains 100 per cent creditor support

Steinhoff-Horslepy-Park-renderSteinhoff International has secured 100 per cent of third-party creditor support after announcing its lock-up agreement (LUA) became effective as of July 20th.

Initially, it seemed the furniture group were having issues gaining the necessary support, though that fear has now passed as the agreement is in full effect.

“The company is pleased to announce that 100 per cent in value of the third-party creditors under Hemisphere’s EUR750m revolving credit facility…have now entered into the hemisphere LUA,” the group announced via an investor update.

“The company and the hemisphere lenders are continuing discussions on implementation of the restructuring of the financial indebtedness of hemisphere…[and] are now seeking to execute the material documents required to implement the hemisphere restructuring by 17 August 2018.”

From the date the agreement became effective, July 20, the group have three months to implement the restructuring, the terms of which will remain in place for three years, subject to a maturity long stop date of December 31 2021.

The proposed August date falls within this time frame, though also gives some room for extension if necessary.

Meanwhile, Steinhoff has also moved two Europe units central to the accounting scandal enveloping the company, to the UK.

Steinhoff Europe AG and Steinhoff Finance Holdings GmbH will more from Austria to Cheltenham, England, where the company’s UK business is based.

The restructuring plan came as a result of significant debt having hurt the company, largely due to a $9.2 billion hole found in the companies finances.

The company has been under investigation for fraud for some time, with geographical subsidiaries considering name changes to distance themselves from the potentially ‘poisonous’ Steinhoff name.

Steinhoff Asia Pacific recently considered rebranding itself ‘Greenlit’, while South-African based Steinhoff Africa Retail last week proposed a name change to “Pepkor Holdings Limited”; finding shareholder support, excluding abstentions, of approximately 96 per cent.

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