Headlines

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA dropped as much as 60% after completing a recapitalization that hands control of the company to aircraft lessors and bondholders, Bloomberg News reported. Investors had in recent days stubbornly traded Norwegian’s shares far above the price of a discounted equity issue that came on top of an $830 million debt conversion.

Lebanese banks are urging the government to sell state assets and defer maturities to avoid defaulting on its domestic debt and driving the country’s finances into an even deeper crisis, Bloomberg News reported. The Association of Banks in Lebanon made the recommendations in a response to the economic recovery plan the government is discussing with the International Monetary Fund after seeking $10 billion in assistance.

South Africa mobile operator Cell C said on Wednesday it had finalised a recapitalisation plan, which has been sent to the Competition Commission for approval, Reuters reported. The country’s third-largest telecoms company, which is majority owned by Blue Label Telecoms, defaulted on a series of debt payments earlier this year having underperformed in a highly competitive market dominated by MTN and Vodacom.

The U.K. government has introduced new insolvency legislation to help businesses that are struggling from the economic impacts of coronavirus, Bloomberg News reported. The new Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill will create more opportunities to save companies in difficulty and offer better protection from creditors during the pandemic, according to a statement Wednesday. Under the bill, U.K. companies will have access to new tools to restructure their debt in order to keep operating through the crisis.

The Tanzanian unit of Kenya’s ARM Cement Plc has been sold to China’s Huaxin Cement company, its administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers and Huaxin said on Wednesday, paving way for completion of one of its production plant, Reuters reported. Huaxin would inject $116 million into the unit, Maweni Limestone Ltd, to settle liabilities, and another $30 million to complete plant construction and upgrade, according to their joint statement.

Bunge’s Brazil unit has signed a contract to acquire two soy crushing plants from Imcopa, according to a statement sent to Reuters on Wednesday, marking another step to consolidate its position as Brazil’s largest soybean crusher, Reuters reported. Imcopa, which is operating under bankruptcy court protection, confirmed the signing of the contract and said the aim of the sale is to keep the plants running and protect jobs, according to a separate statement. Bunge said regulatory approvals for the transaction are still pending.

Administrators in charge of South Africa’s Edcon believe there is a reasonable chance of saving the retailer after it filed for a form of bankruptcy protection in April, Reuters reported. Edcon, which owns department store chain Edgars and budget clothing retailer Jet, entered “business rescue” proceedings after losing an estimated 2 billion rand ($111 million) of sales since the coronavirus pandemic reached South Africa in March.

Airline Lufthansa said on Thursday it is in advanced talks with the German government’s economic stabilisation fund over a rescue deal worth up to 9 billion euros ($9.9 billion), including the state taking a 20% stake in the company, Reuters reported. Lufthansa said in a statement that the deal would involve the government taking two seats on its supervisory board, but it would only exercise its voting rights as a whole in exceptional cases such as protection against a takeover.

Sweden’s highly contested response to Covid-19 left much of the economy open. Even so, the country is now headed for its worst recession since World War II, Bloomberg News reported. Scandinavia’s biggest economy will shrink 7% this year, Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson said on Tuesday. Shortly after she spoke, the debt office revealed an historic 30-fold spike in borrowing to cover emergency spending amid record job losses. A separate survey showed 40% of businesses in Sweden’s service sector now fear bankruptcy.

Casual Dining Group, a KKR-owned company that runs continental-themed mass market restaurants brands in the U.K., is weighing cutting costs with its landlords and filing for administration, according to a person familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News reported. The owner of Cafe Rouge and Bella Italia, and employer to 6,000 people, said on Monday it hired advisers AlixPartners and law firm Kirkland & Ellis as it mulls alternatives to address liabilities that were last reported at near $300 million one year ago.