BUSINESS NEWS - South Africa’s Steinhoff is considering selling stakes worth a combined $1.4 billion in local companies PSG Group and KAP Industrial to help plug a liquidity gap at the retailer, two sources familiar with the matter said.
Steinhoff, the owner of more than 40 retail brands including Conforama, Mattress Firm and Poundland, is fighting for survival after more than $14 billion was wiped off its market value last week following its disclosure of accounting irregularities and the exit of its chief executive.
The company has said it planned to raise around $2 billion from the sale of non-core assets and the proceeds of debt repayments from its African unit Steinhoff Africa Retail, to fill a hole in its balance sheet.
“It cannot get any more non-core than their stake in PSG,” a source in Johannesburg said. “It is on the table and so is the stake in KAP.”
The likely sale of the stakes was corroborated by a second source based in Frankfurt, who said they were first on the list of possible divestitures to plug funding holes.
