South Africa

Steinhoff International Holdings NV won support from a majority of creditors to restructure its 9.4 billion euros ($11 billion) of debt, seen by the embattled retailer as a vital step toward its recovery from an accounting scandal, Bloomberg News reported. The owner of Conforama in France and Mattress Firm in the U.S. sought a three-year extension to payments due to lenders and bondholders as the South African company repairs its balance sheet.

Steinhoff, extended for a second time on Wednesdaythe "early bird fee" deadline for creditors to sign a three-year agreement to hold off their debt claims, as the scandal-hit South African retailer battles to stay afloat, Nasdaq reported. Steinhoff wants to restructure its roughly nine billion euro debt after disclosing holes in its balance sheet that wiped more than 90 percent off its market value and forced it into asset sales to fund working capital.

Steinhoff International Holdings NV began seeking sign-off from lenders for a debt restructuring plan that will support the South African retailer’s balance sheet for three years and prevent a potential collapse, Bloomberg News reported. The owner of chains including Mattress Firm in the U.S. and Conforama in France has been negotiating for months with creditor groups represented by financial advisers FTI Consulting, Houlihan Lokey Inc. and PJT Partners Inc. to reach an agreement on a way to postpone the repayment of borrowings.

South African Airways pledged to urgently begin a search for a private-sector partner to help turn around the troubled state-owned carrier and ease the burden on an already stretched National Treasury. The assurance followed an attempt by the Solidarity union to end SAA’s reliance on state funding and push the airline into business rescue. The carrier hasn’t made a profit since 2011 and last year needed a bailout to avoid a default on borrowings, Bloomberg News reported.

The highest court in the country has sent the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development back to the drawing board regarding a policy which is aimed at transforming the appointment of insolvency practitioners to redress past injustices, TimesLIVE reported. A majority judgment by the Constitutional Court‚ written by Justice Chris Jafta‚ was delivered on Thursday and ruled that the policy was flawed.

Steinhoff International Holdings NV is gauging takeover interest in businesses including clothing chain Pepco as the scandal-hit retailer prepares for the next phase of a recovery plan, according to two people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News reported. The South African company has informally sounded out potential buyers for Pepco including private equity firms, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the plans aren’t public.

Eskom on Wednesday dismissed reports that the company was restructuring its debt of more than R300 billion, IOL reported. “We remain committed to executing our approved borrowing programme,” said Andre Pillay, Eskom's group treasurer.

South Africa’s government won’t bail out 13 municipalities that lost about 1.65 billion rand ($119 million) they invested in VBS Mutual Bank before it collapsed in March, according to Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Zweli Mkhize, Bloomberg News reported. “All these monies were wiped out,” Mkhize said in an interview at Bloomberg’s Johannesburg offices on Friday.

The most important passage in Steinhoff International Holdings NV’s regulatory filing late Friday, was a section attesting that management still believes the retailer is a going concern. A formality for most companies, Steinhoff’s confidence that it can keep the lights on isn’t self-evident. The acquisitive South African group’s shares have lost almost all their value and its bonds trade at a steep discount following a warning of accounting regularities and the resignation of its chief executive, which triggered a liquidity crisis in December, a Bloomberg View reported.

Steinhoff International Holdings NV may have to compromise with creditors over the length of a debt-payment extension plan to win support for a deal that may keep the embattled retailer afloat, according to people familiar with the situation. The owner of Conforama in France and Mattress Firm in the U.S. is negotiating a two-year payment delay with bondholders and lenders that would include zero cash interest, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the talks are still ongoing, Bloomberg News reported. The South African company initially proposed a three-year payment postponement.