Steinhoff has applied to the Dutch court for approval of its restructuring plan that would make it binding on all lenders and shareholders, saving it from imminent bankruptcy. The court will hear the application on June 15.
Steinhoff intends to enter a restructuring process known as the WHOA (Court Confirmation of Extrajudicial Restructuring Plan/Wet Homologatie Onderhands Akkoord) to prevent being forced into bankruptcy in June and its assets sold in a fire sale.
The scandal- and debt-stricken company, now worth about €7bn, must repay €10.2bn of debt by June 30 and is unable to do so.
The restructuring plan, involves delisting the company and placing it in the care of a trust.
In May, all the lenders voted in favour of the WHOA plan, agreeing to extend the debt repayment date to June 2026, which gives them three years to sell Steinhoff’s assets at the best price possible.
However, shareholders overwhelmingly rejected the proposal. German shareholder group SDK (Schutzgemeinschaft der Kapitalanleger), asked the court to appoint an independent expert as it believes Steinhoff has more value than its debt.
The court rejected this request on Thursday.
In terms of the plan, shareholders could get 20% of what is left of the company after the hedge funds holding the debt are repaid, but they are likely to end up with nothing.
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