The board of Interserve has rejected attempts by shareholder Coltrane Asset Management to alter its rescue deal
Earlier this morning we reported that Coltrane had submitted a new rescue deal to Interserve. The firm was said to be considering the proposal and has now issued a statement in response.
Here is the full statement issued by the board of Interserve:
“The Coltrane Proposal requires the consent of the lenders, bonding providers and Pension Trustee to be capable of implementation. The Board has asked Coltrane for its consent to share the Coltrane Proposal with these parties and their advisors, but this request has been refused despite the fact that the key terms of their proposal have been made public by Coltrane. The ability to obtain lender support for a materially different deal requiring lenders to take significantly larger write-offs, or provide ongoing support, in the short time frame available is therefore unknown.
“The Coltrane Proposal requires that the Board immediately halt the implementation of the Deleveraging Plan that was launched on 27 February 2019 and that is subject to shareholder approval on 15 March 2019. In light of the Company’s short-term liquidity requirements and given that Interserve’s Deleveraging Plan is currently the only fully funded proposal which has the agreement of lenders, bonding providers and Pension Trustee, the Board is unable to consent to this request without risking the future of Interserve together with its employees, pensioners, customers and suppliers.
“The Board also notes that the Coltrane Proposal is non-binding and unfunded and remains subject to due diligence. There is therefore no certainty that Coltrane’s proposal could be successfully implemented.
“The Board will be providing more detailed feedback to Coltrane on its proposal today and confirms that the Board remains open to considering any proposal which provides liquidity and a deleveraging solution that is capable of implementation in the time frame available.
“However, the Board continues to recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the Deleveraging Plan, which is currently the only plan that is capable of implementation in order to provide sufficient liquidity, cash and bonding facilities to allow the Group to service short term obligations and secure a stable platform for the business.”
“The Board considers the Deleveraging Plan to be in the best interests of Interserve and all its stakeholders, including shareholders, as a whole. Accordingly, the Board continues to unanimously recommend that shareholders support the Deleveraging Plan and vote in favour on 15 March.”
For more on the board’s deleveraging plan, view our previous coverage.
