Troubled Greek jeweler Folli Follie seeks bankruptcy protection

Folli Follie SA

15/11/2018 20:08

ATHENS, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Troubled Greek jewelry maker
Folli Follie has asked for protection from creditors in order to
finalise a restructuring plan, it said in a statement on
Thursday.
    "The application for the granting of protective measures was
submitted in order to secure the time frame needed to finalise
the terms of the company's restructuring plan," it said.
    Securing interim protection would mitigate the risk of a
large number of job losses in Greece and abroad, Follie said,
adding it had "strong support of over 50 percent of its
unsecured creditors."
    It said management was in the process of producing a revised
business plan together with Deloitte for the total restructuring
of its operations.
    Follie plunged into trouble when hedge fund Quintessential
Capital Management said in a May report that it had overstated
the number of its outlets. It also questioned its accounting
practices in Asia where the company had expanded rapidly.
    That report sent Folli shares down sharply, led to a fine
from the Greek securities commission and an investigation and
the resignation of its founders, Dimitris Koutsolioutsos and
Ekaterini Koutsolioutsou, in September, after a preliminary
audit revealed wide discrepancies in 2017 financial statements.

 (Reporting by Karolina Tagaris
Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
 ((karolina.tagaris@thomsonreuters.com; +30 210 3376 455;))