UPDATE 1-S.Africa's Steinhoff proposes $1 bln settlement to solve legal disputes
* Steinhoff battling to recover from accounting fraud
* Facing lawsuits worth billions of dollars
* Settlement sees company offering around $1 bln in total
* Deal needs creditors, regulators and claimants to agree
(Adds details, quote)
JOHANNESBURG, July 27 (Reuters) - South African retailer
Steinhoff International said on Monday it had proposed
a settlement worth up to around $1 billion to settle a stream of
legal claims against it following a massive accounting fraud.
Lawsuits worth billions of dollars are now the biggest
challenge facing Steinhoff, which is battling to recover from
the impact of the $7 billion scandal after first revealing holes
in its accounts in December 2017.
CEO Louis du Preez said the settlement being proposed was
the result of 12 months of "intensive effort" and urged all
claimants to support it.
"Although there is no certainty yet that we will be able to
conclude this settlement, in our view these terms are firmly in
the best interests of all stakeholders," he said in a statement.
The settlement splits claimants into two groups: those with
claims related to market purchases and those with contractual
claims. Steinhoff said not all claims against it are covered in
the settlement.
It offers 266 million euros ($311.35 million) for market
purchase claims, with contractual claimants to be offered around
104 million euros and a further 9.4 billion rand ($568 million)
for claims against a subsidiary - just over $1 billion in total.
The value would be paid in both cash and shares in retailer
Pepkor , a Steinhoff subsidiary, if the settlement is
given the consent of creditors, regulators and eligible
claimants, Steinhoff said.
($1 = 0.8543 euros)($1 = 16.5507 rand)
(Reporting by Emma Rumney; editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo
and Jason Neely)
((Emma.Rumney@thomsonreuters.com; +27115952832;))
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