Scholz Holding GmbH
Scholz Holding GmbH: Scholz Holding is in constructive discussions with its financial creditors on a financial restructuring to provide a sustainable capital structure – Positive feedback from investor process
DGAP-News: Scholz Holding GmbH / Key word(s): Bond Press Release Scholz Holding GmbH London, 15. January 2016 Scholz Holding is in constructive discussions with its financial creditors on a financial restructuring to provide a sustainable capital structure – Positive feedback from investor process – The Investor process for Scholz Holding has identified parties who in principle are willing to provide new equity on the basis of a restructured capital base – Scholz Holding has commenced constructive discussions with its principal financial creditors – At the request of Scholz Holding, a curator was appointed on 14 January 2016 under the Austrian Curator Act by the Commercial Court in Vienna to provide common representation for the holders of the Euro 182.5 million 8.5% bonds 2012-2017 – The overall aim is to enable all stakeholders to benefit from the future growth and earnings potential of a financially restructured Scholz Group – The day-to-day business of all Scholz Group companies will continue to operate as usual, unaffected by the financial restructuring process at Scholz Holding Scholz Holding GmbH plans to significantly restructure its financial liabilities with all financial parties on a fully consensual basis and has commenced constructive discussions with its principal financial creditors. This process should ensure that the already largely restructured operating business of the international recycling group is underpinned by a sustainable capital base. Feedback from the investor process for Scholz Holding, which has been ongoing since September 2015, demonstrates that there is significant interest from parties who would be willing in principle to provide new equity into the business in order to fund future growth. Parties have highlighted that, in order to facilitate the introduction of any new equity, there would need to be a comprehensive restructuring of the current capital and debt structure. In this regard, Scholz Holding’s management has been considering options for a quick and efficient financial restructuring with its legal and financial advisers. Such a financial restructuring will likely necessitate a de-leveraging of Scholz Holding’s financial debt. The overall aim of the process is to enable all stakeholders to benefit from the future growth and earnings potential of a financially restructured Scholz Group. To this end, a number of initial steps have been undertaken as part of the envisaged restructuring process: * Scholz Holding’s headquarters, management and business were relocated to London on 14 January 2016. As part of the relocation, Scholz Holding’s management board has been reconfigured and now consists of Oliver Scholz, CEO, as well as two newly appointed managing directors Michael Thomas and Neil Robson (as Chief Restructuring Officers), both partners in the restructuring consultancy firm Talbot Hughes McKillop LLP. From now on, Scholz Holding will focus on the matters associated with the implementation of the financial restructuring. * Scholz Management Service GmbH (SMS), headquartered in Essingen, has been established to assume all the tasks in connection with the operating business of the group with effect from 1 January 2016. The managing directors of the new company, a 100% subsidiary of Scholz Holding, are Oliver Scholz (CEO) as well as Parag-Johannes Bhatt as CFO and Dr. Kay Oppat as COO. Mr. Bhatt and Dr. Oppat have stepped down from the Scholz Holding board in order to facilitate the relocation of Scholz Holding to London and to focus on the operating business. * Furthermore, on 14 January 2016 and at the request of Scholz Holding, a curator was appointed under the Austrian Curator Act by the Austrian Commercial Court in Vienna as common representative of the holders of the Euro 182.5 million 8.5% Austrian law governed bond 2012-2017 issued by Scholz Holding. The role of the curator will be to represent the bondholders’ interests in the financial restructuring and to negotiate during the restructuring process on their behalf. Notwithstanding these steps at Scholz Holding level, the operating businesses of the Scholz Group are unaffected by the planned financial restructuring and continue to trade as usual. Given the support of the company’s creditors to date, the positive feedback obtained from potential investors and the measures already taken at Scholz Holding to prepare for a financial restructuring process, the management of Scholz Holding is confident that the current discussions will lead to a successful outcome. It is the intention of Scholz Holding’s management to complete the financial restructuring process over the course of the first part of 2016. Oliver Scholz, CEO of the Scholz Group, comments: “The possible need for a financial restructuring and the options to achieve it were identified at an early stage and, as a result, we are well prepared for this process. I am confident that our financing partners, who have consistently supported our group in a very constructive manner since the beginning of the restructuring in 2013, shall make the restoration of a sound and viable capital base possible.” Contact details:
2016-01-15 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP – a service of EQS Group AG. |
Language: | English | |
Company: | Scholz Holding GmbH | |
Berndt-Ulrich-Scholz-Straße 1 | ||
73457 Essingen | ||
Germany | ||
Phone: | +49 7365 84-0 | |
Fax: | +49 7365 1481 | |
E-mail: | infoscholz@scholz-group.com | |
Internet: | www.scholz-group.com | |
ISIN: | AT0000A0U9J2 | |
WKN: | A1MLSS | |
Listed: | Open Market in Frankfurt ; Wien (Geregelter Freiverkehr / Second Regulated Market) | |
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