Steinhoff Halves Value of Property Unit in Business Review

(Bloomberg) -- Steinhoff International Holdings NV said a European real-estate portfolio may be worth about half previous estimates, as the embattled global retailer reviews the value of its assets following an accounting scandal.

Hemisphere International Properties BV has been valued at about 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in a review by CBRE Group Inc., Steinhoff said in a statement Tuesday. That compared with a previous book value of 2.2 billion euros. The findings will go toward calculations for the eventual publication of accounts for 2017, which were delayed after Steinhoff reported accounting irregularities in December.

The 2.2 billion-euro valuation took account of the sale of a flagship store in Vienna that the company sold to shore up its balance sheet late last year, when the stock plunged more than 90 percent in the wake of the scandal. Auditors at PwC are reviewing Steinhoff's accounts, including off-balance sheet structures and related parties, and said last week they would conclude the investigation by the end of the year.

The stock fell as much as 11 percent in Frankfurt, where the retailer moved its primary listing from Johannesburg in 2015, and traded 8 percent lower at 0.21 euros as of 9:13 a.m. local time. The shares have fallen 94 percent since the crisis broke, wiping $12 billion off the market valuation.

Hemisphere holds real estate across Europe, including the U.K., Germany, Poland and Romania.

--With assistance from Janice Kew

To contact the reporter on this story: John Bowker in Johannesburg at jbowker2@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Liezel Hill, Ana Monteiro

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.