LONDON, April 5 (Reuters) - British hardware retailer Robert Dyas said on Sunday it was close to completing a management buyout (MBO) to secure the future of its 99-store business that employs 1,250.
Media reports said the 137-year old firm had been near administration after its private equity firm owner Change Capital Partners sought a refinancing deal with the business's principle lenders, Lloyds Banking Group, the part-nationalised British bank, and Allied Irish Bank.
A spokesman for Robert Dyas said the firm was aiming to conclude the MBO deal by the Easter weekend (April 11) after Lloyds agreed to back the company's management.
'The directors can confirm constructive talks have been ongoing with the company's bankers and as a result are close to completing a MBO,' the company said in a statement.
'Lloyds Banking Group are and continue remain fully supportive of (Managing Director) Steve Round and the rest of the management team,' it added.
Change Capital Partners would have no further role in the company under the deal, the spokesman said.
The retail chain was trading profitably in the run-up to Easter and all it stores remained open, he said.
(Reporting by Tim Castle and Matt Scuffham, editing by Martin Golan) Keywords: ROBERT DYAS RESCUE TALKS/ (tim.castle@reuters.com; +44 207 542 9786; Reuters Messaging: tim.castle.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. 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.
Media reports said the 137-year old firm had been near administration after its private equity firm owner Change Capital Partners sought a refinancing deal with the business's principle lenders, Lloyds Banking Group, the part-nationalised British bank, and Allied Irish Bank.
A spokesman for Robert Dyas said the firm was aiming to conclude the MBO deal by the Easter weekend (April 11) after Lloyds agreed to back the company's management.
'The directors can confirm constructive talks have been ongoing with the company's bankers and as a result are close to completing a MBO,' the company said in a statement.
'Lloyds Banking Group are and continue remain fully supportive of (Managing Director) Steve Round and the rest of the management team,' it added.
Change Capital Partners would have no further role in the company under the deal, the spokesman said.
The retail chain was trading profitably in the run-up to Easter and all it stores remained open, he said.
(Reporting by Tim Castle and Matt Scuffham, editing by Martin Golan) Keywords: ROBERT DYAS RESCUE TALKS/ (tim.castle@reuters.com; +44 207 542 9786; Reuters Messaging: tim.castle.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. 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.