FRANKFURT, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Creditors of the landlords of insolvent German department store chain Karstadt on Wednesday approved a landmark debt restructuring plan, paving the way for Karstadt's sale.
Almost all of the noteholders in the 1.2 billion pound ($1.9 billion) Fleet Street 2 Commercial Mortgage Backed Securitisation (CMBS) agreed to emergency measures to protect the value of their bonds in one of the largest CMBS restructurings of its kind.
'The plan was almost unanimously approved by creditors,' said a spokesman for the Highstreet consortium, which owns about two thirds of Karstadt's store space and is led by Goldman Sachs , Deutsche Bank and Pirelli Real Estate .
Reuters reported from sources on Tuesday that creditors were set to approve the plan.
'This is the third major CMBS restructuring to take place already this year after the STG 525 million refinancing of the Lakeside debt and the amendments to the STG 1.15 billion White Tower deal,' an analyst at specialist debt research house CapitalStructure said.
'Noteholders can now see these complex structures can be unpicked -- though at a price,' the analyst said.
The bondholders approved proposed amendments to the deal's debt and lease structure.
Karstadt's parent Arcandor filed for insolvency in June last year after its attempts to get state aid failed.
The insolvency administrator of Karstadt aims to sell the department store chain, which rivals Metro's Kaufhof in Germany, as a whole with all its 120 stores. Six interested parties are currently examining the books.
(Reporting by Alexander Huebner and Eva Kuehnen with Sinead Cruise in London; Editing by David Holmes)
($1=.6473 Pound) Keywords: KARSTADT/ (eva.kuehnen@thomsonreuters.com; +49 69 7565 1244; Reuters Messaging: eva.kuehnen.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Almost all of the noteholders in the 1.2 billion pound ($1.9 billion) Fleet Street 2 Commercial Mortgage Backed Securitisation (CMBS) agreed to emergency measures to protect the value of their bonds in one of the largest CMBS restructurings of its kind.
'The plan was almost unanimously approved by creditors,' said a spokesman for the Highstreet consortium, which owns about two thirds of Karstadt's store space and is led by Goldman Sachs , Deutsche Bank and Pirelli Real Estate .
Reuters reported from sources on Tuesday that creditors were set to approve the plan.
'This is the third major CMBS restructuring to take place already this year after the STG 525 million refinancing of the Lakeside debt and the amendments to the STG 1.15 billion White Tower deal,' an analyst at specialist debt research house CapitalStructure said.
'Noteholders can now see these complex structures can be unpicked -- though at a price,' the analyst said.
The bondholders approved proposed amendments to the deal's debt and lease structure.
Karstadt's parent Arcandor filed for insolvency in June last year after its attempts to get state aid failed.
The insolvency administrator of Karstadt aims to sell the department store chain, which rivals Metro's Kaufhof in Germany, as a whole with all its 120 stores. Six interested parties are currently examining the books.
(Reporting by Alexander Huebner and Eva Kuehnen with Sinead Cruise in London; Editing by David Holmes)
($1=.6473 Pound) Keywords: KARSTADT/ (eva.kuehnen@thomsonreuters.com; +49 69 7565 1244; Reuters Messaging: eva.kuehnen.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
