Creditors back rescue plan for troubled Greek jeweller Folli

Folli Follie SA

10/12/2020 09:57

ATHENS, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Greek jeweller Folli Follie
 HDFr.AT  has secured the approval of its creditors for a
long-awaited rescue plan, the company said late on Wednesday.
    Folli has struggled to pay suppliers and workers and keep
its business going since a hedge fund report in 2018 questioned
its accounting methods. 
    The report led to the suspension of its shares and an audit
which revealed a billion euro hole in 2017 sales. Folli's former
 chairman and its former CEO are in custody pending trial,
according to Greek media. They have denied any wrongdoing.
    The company has been in talks for months with creditors to
get the consent of at least 60% of them for a rescue plan before
it can file it with Greek courts.
    In a bourse filing late on Wednesday, Folli said creditors
holding 139.5 million euros ($168.9 million) of Swiss bonds and
creditors holding 249.5 million euros of Eurobonds convened on
Dec. 9 and approved by majority its financial restructuring.
    The restructuring plan includes shutting down loss-making
stores, transferring most of its core business and all of its
real estate assets to creditors and issuing a 13 million euros
loan to cover immediate cash needs.
    Folli said would file the plan with a Greek court later this
month.
    ($1 = 0.8260 euros)

 (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Mark Potter)
 ((angeliki.koutantou@thomsonreuters.com; +30 210 3376436;
Reuters Messaging: angeliki.koutantou.reuters.com@reuters.net))