Steinhoff ex-chief Christo Wiese sues firm for $4.8bn

Bloomberg

Steinhoff International Holdings NV ex-Chairman Christo Wiese is suing the scandal-hit retailer for $4.8 billion as the South African billionaire seeks to recoup investments he made in the company in 2015 and 2016.
The retail tycoon was the biggest shareholder in the owner of Conforama in France and Mattress Firm in the US when the company reported a hole in the accounts in December. The stock has since crashed 95 percent, and Wiese’s wealth plunged from more than $5 billion to $2.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The lawsuit represents a major setback for Steinhoff as it battles to stay afloat and appease lenders. Executives told investors at the company’s annual general meeting in Amsterdam Friday that its financial situation is “very challenged” and that working capital had dried up. Debt of $12.7 billion is the most urgent matter to be addressed, and the company is preparing to present a restructuring plan to lenders.
Steinhoff didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
“It’s in the best interest of all stakeholders in Steinhoff that a restructuring of the group be effected on fair and equitable terms,” Wiese’s investment company, Titan Group, said in an emailed statement.
Steinhoff owns some “excellent businesses” that “have every potential of continuing to create value for all shareholders and claimants.”
Wiese is making two legal claims, the first of which calls for the cancellation of an agreement whereby Titan took Steinhoff shares in exchange for his clothing retailer Pepkor Ltd. in a $5.7 billion deal three years ago.