Steinhoff has won more creditor support to give the South African retailer time to restructure debts totalling €9 billion in a fight for survival.
The company, which grew rapidly from a small local furniture outfit to a multi-national retailer, said on Tuesday that holders of 93%, 83% and 75.5% of three convertible bonds totalling €2.7 billion had agreed to a debt standstill agreement.
Accounting Irregularities
Steinhoff revealed holes in its accounts six months ago, shocking investors who had backed its reinvention, sending its shares crashing and leaving it scrambling to pay its debts.
The creditor support comes nearly a week after Steinhoff won support from creditor group representing 61% of the external debt of two European businesses used to fund its overseas operations.
Creditors have agreed not to enforce their rights until the end of the month to allow Steinhoff time to clinch a debt restructuring agreement with its lenders.
The company has so far said all its debt would be reinstated at par and be given a common maturity date of three years from the completion of the restructuring agreement.
Shares in Steinhoff were up 1.5% at 1.31 rand, valuing it around 5.5 billion rand, a reversal in fortunes for the company that was worth 240 billion rand six months ago.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
