JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s Steinhoff International Holdings NV said on Thursday it had reached an agreement with some of its largest creditors to extend the maturity of its debt.
Steinhoff has been looking to reduce debt and financing costs following a 2017 accounting scandal that prompted about 90 separate legal claims against it.
The company’s board of directors believes the agreement gives it a good platform to extend the maturity of its “group services debt” from June 30 2023 to at least June 30 2026, Steinhoff said in a statement.
Steinhoff said if shareholders agree to the deal, they will retain 20% of the economic interest in the equity of the group after the deal closes, with financial creditors entitled to receive the balance.
If shareholders do not agree, they will not retain any interest in the group, it said.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Johannesburg and Sinchita Mitra in Bengaluru; Editing by Alexander Winning)
