JOHANNESBURG - A group of Steinhoff creditors have appointed financial adviser PJT Partners and law firm Latham Watkins to represent them in any potential debt restructuring, PJT said.
Steinhoff, owner of more than 40 retail brands including Poundland in Britain, is fighting for survival after admitting “accounting irregularities” last month that triggered an 85 percent share slide.
Steinhoff International has given its creditors a glimmer of hope by stating that it is able to operate its business on short-term funding for its various businesses after securing some liquidity in the past few days.
In a meeting with its lenders on Friday in London, the retailer committed to giving a quarterly trading update at the end of February.
Steinhoff’s subsidiary Conforama in France said its financing position has been secured and it has a commitment letter signed for an asset-based lending facility of 115million (R1.69billion).
The execution is expected today along with first drawdown. In addition it has sold a non-core asset, a 17percentstake in Showroomprivé to Carrefour, which was announced on January 11 for net proceeds of 79m.
Also read: Glimmer of hope for Steinhoff creditors
“The group continues to take steps to maintain stability of its operations and immediate operational liquidity requirements have been largely addressed,” the group said in a statement.
It added that the focus can now start to shift to the next phase.
In South Africa the group agreed with its lenders that African subsidiaries would repay 200m of intercompany loans due to non-South African entities, funded from PSG share sale proceeds, subject to documentation and certain conditions and regulatory approvals.
The group raised R7.1bn for the sale of its shares in investment company PSG Group. “The group is working to repay all the debt of the South African holding companies in the near-term,” it said.