Steinhoff Moves Two Europe Units to U.K. After Winning Debt Deal
(Bloomberg) -- Steinhoff International Holdings NV relocated two units at the heart of its accounting scandal to the U.K. as the retailer embarks on a new phase of recovery after reorganizing debt.
Steinhoff Europe AG and Steinhoff Finance Holdings GmbH will move from Austria to Cheltenham, England -- where the South African company's U.K. business is based. The supervisory boards of both units have been redrawn, with Steinhoff Chief Financial Officer Philip Dieperink and Commercial Director Louis du Preez holding positions at the Europe division.
Joining them is Richard Heis, a corporate restructuring specialist previously at KPMG LLP who Steinhoff hired in February. The trio are part of the new leadership team charged with rescuing the owner of Poundland in the U.K. and Mattress Firm in the U.S. after its share price collapsed and Chief Executive Officer Markus Jooste quit.
Steinhoff won support in July from a majority of creditors to restructure 9.4 billion euros ($11 billion) of debt -- a crucial step toward its potential survival. Auditors at PwC are investigating the company's accounts with a particular focus on off-balance-sheet and third-party deals, and aim to publish a report by the end of the year.
The company has said that the financial irregularities it reported in December are likely to have been focused on the European businesses, which also include Conforama in France, Pep stores in Eastern Europe and Hemisphere properties. Steinhoff sold loss-making Austrian furniture retailer Kika/Leiner and related real estate assets to local billionaire Rene Benko in June. The African business was spun off into a separately listed company before the scandal erupted.
Steinhoff shares gained 2.7 percent to 0.16 euros as of 1:49 p.m. in Frankfurt.
Last week, Steinhoff said it had replaced Dirk Schreiber, the former head of finance in Europe, on the boards of both the Europe and finance divisions.
To contact the reporter on this story: Janice Kew in Johannesburg at jkew4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Eric Pfanner at epfanner1@bloomberg.net, John Bowker
©2018 Bloomberg L.P.
-
A New Samvat Wishlist: Inclusive Prosperity And Human Development
India has strengthened its economic foundations through infrastructure, digital access and enterprise. Its next growth chapter must deepen productivity, create better livelihoods and widen participation in prosperity.
-
Love, Sex Aur Dhokha: The Audacious Plot To Spy On Jensen Huang
A Taipei dinner, a Singapore chip buyer and a suspected Chinese asset: inside the alleged spy operation that got close to NVIDIA's Jensen Huang.
-
Ten Things I Learnt This Samvat
Patience can be a trap. Cheap stocks can stay cheap. Leverage can wipe you out. What did Samvat 2082 teach us? Niraj Shah writes on 10 lessons from the year gone by.
-
Talking Points This Week: Tech Nerves, FII Buying, And A Faraway Banking Shock
The global markets are not shining this Diwali. The exception in the large markets is, India.
-
Midterm Rally Lasted A Day. The Hard Reality Of A Divided US May Last Two Years | Opinion
Between a contested AI boom, a debt ceiling that arrives in 2027 and a president with every incentive to act alone, the next two years may prove more volatile than the first day's rally suggests.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
