Steinhoff EUR60 Million Transfer to European Operations Approved -- Update

Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. (SNH.JO) said Thursday that lenders have approved a transfer of funds from its South African subsidiary worth 60 million euros ($73 million) to support its European operations.

The South African retailer said it estimated it needed EUR200 million to fund its short-term liquidity requirements in Europe, and it was in talks with its South African lenders to approve further payments.

The company said that, for the short-term, it remains able to pay back its debt obligations at the agreed-upon rate. It also said it would seek refinancing as soon as possible for its South African debt in order to release liquidity, and planned on selling a limited number of assets to further raise liquidity.

According to Steinhoff, it has not obtained external funds to support the Europe operations due to the company's organizational complexity and the terms of existing debt, but said that additional external financing may be required in the future.

After having received the support of its creditors in recent weeks, Steinhoff said it would seek a waiver of certain of its financing arrangements in Europe.

The retailer has been involved in an accounting scandal following the discovery of possible problems in its books that could affect some $7 billion in assets.

Write to Carlo Martuscelli at carlo.martuscelli@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 18, 2018 11:28 ET (16:28 GMT)