By Karl Gernetzky.
The liquidators of Steinhoff International have set a liquidation date of 13 October, after which it will delist and its shares shall cease to exist.
Steinhoff’s shareholders had voted to dissolve the company and delist it from the Johannesburg and Frankfurt stock exchanges in July, with around 99% approval during a meeting in Amsterdam that was poorly attended.
The decision to delist was largely a foregone conclusion, given that a Dutch court had already certified Steinhoff’s plan to switch from a publicly listed company owned by shareholders to a delisted group under the control of its creditors.
In exchange for delisting and handing over economic control to its creditors, Steinhoff has been granted a three-year debt repayment holiday. The company had been battling in the wake of SA’s biggest ever accounting scandal, and still had about a €10.2 billion (R200 billion) debt burden.
Following the delisting, Steinhoff’s stock will be converted into a type of equity called contingent value rights (CVRs). The group’s creditors will receive 80% of these CVRs. Shareholders will receive the remaining 20%, though the value of this remains unclear.