FTI Consulting is working with bank lenders and hedge funds Attestor
Capital and Davidson Kempner Capital Management, which bought bank debt
and contributed new loans to Steinhoff after the December disclosure of
accounting irregularities sent its securities plummeting, the people
said.
The members of FTI’s committee will be allowed in the meeting
alongside advisers of other groups, they said.
A representative for FTI declined to comment on the talks, while
officials at Attestor didn’t return calls and emails seeking comment. A
spokesman for Davidson Kempner wasn’t immediately available to comment.
Houlihan Lokey Inc is representing holders of €2.7bn of
convertible notes issued by Steinhoff Finance Holding GmbH. They
included Centerbridge Partners, Silver Point Capital Management and York
Capital Management, people familiar with the matter said last year.
Some of those bonds are indirectly guaranteed by Steinhoff’s profitable
South African division, and have been trading at close to 90 cents on
the euro, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Holders of €800m of bonds due January 2025 and funds that bought bank
loans issued out of the Steinhoff Europe AG subsidiary, including
Och-Ziff Capital Management, are working with adviser
PJT Partners, the people said.
Representatives for PJT and Och-Ziff declined to comment.
While Steinhoff has been selling assets to raise cash, the retailer
told investors last month that debt levels are too high for the strategy
to be sustainable. Accountants from PwC have been hired to trawl
through the finances to identify the cause of a more-than 6 billion-euro
hole in the accounts and the probe isn’t expected to be completed any
time soon.
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