Punch Taverns to launch restructuring tomorrow
Punch Taverns, the UK-based listed pubs company, is to launch its GBP 2.2bn (USD 3.7bn) restructuring tomorrow, 11 August, The Sunday Times reported.
Sixty percent of bondholders have already agreed to the move, and according to a person with close links to the business, Punch will be in discussions with the remainder until the very last moment before the launch tomorrow. The report noted that Punch needs support from 75% to proceed with its proposal. The latest plan appears to have received the approval of all parties, according to an unsourced Mail on Sunday report.
The plan involves a debt-for-equity deal which will see lenders take 85% of equity in exchange for erasing GBP 600m of Punch's debt, the Times report said. It noted that existing equity holders will be left with only 15% of the company, which was worth approximately GBP 60m at the close of stock-market trading last Friday.
The restructuring is thought likely to be tied up by November and will put an end to long-term battling between the company’s owners and its many classes of bondholders, the report said.
Source Sunday Times, Mail on Sunday