Steinhoff’s Conforama raises $357 million to shore up finances

Bloomberg

Steinhoff International Holdings NV said its struggling French furniture retail unit Conforama raised about 316 million euros ($357 million) to help fund the business amid a mounting debt load.
The fundraising took place as the South African retailer announced Deputy Chief Executive Officer Alexandre Nodale, who is also CEO of Conforama, is giving up those roles.
Sales at Conforama significantly deteriorated between 2017 and 2018, Steinhoff said in a presentation on its website. That was while Steinhoff was battling for survival following an accounting scandal that’s wiped more than 96 percent off its market value.
Meanwhile, Conforama’s expenses increased due to store openings, marketing campaigns and other projects initiated before the crisis erupted, Steinhoff said. The unit’s net debt was 1.72 billion euros at the end of last year, outstripping its equity. The vast majority of the debt is owed to other entities within Steinhoff.
The fundraising places Conforama at the forefront of Steinhoff’s struggle to stabilise after the unveiling of accounting wrongdoing in December 2017. The South African parent company has yet to report audited financials for the 12 months through September of that year, as auditors struggle with the complexity of revaluations
and the profitability of various subsidiaries.
Nodale, who gave up the deputy CEO role at Steinhoff, will remain as CEO of Conforama only until the unit’s long-term financing is finalised. After that, Helen Lee Bouygues will become chairwoman with Cedric Dugardin as CEO.
Steinhoff has offloaded several assets, including Austrian furniture chain Rudolf Leiner GmbH and stakes in firms such as KAP Industrial Holdings Ltd.