Reuters: Hot Stocks: UPDATE 1-Bondholders of German Praktiker eye debt-for-equity swap

Reuters: Hot Stocks Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

UPDATE 1-Bondholders of German Praktiker eye debt-for-equity swap Jul 18th 2013, 10:45 Thu Jul 18, 2013 6:45am EDT * Bondholders say they can help Praktiker out of crisis * Say banks must not sell Max Bahr separately * Insolvency administrator sees interest in parts of group * Shares up 15 percent at 0.0204 euros (Adds Max Bahr comment, insolvency administrator) FRANKFURT, July 18 (Reuters) - Hedge funds holding bonds in insolvent German DIY retailer Praktiker AG want to convert a 250 million euro ($327 million) bond into Praktiker shares, their representative said on Thursday. That means the bondholders are effectively targeting a takeover of the group, Germany's third biggest home-improvement chain, whose blue and yellow-branded stores selling paints, tools and gardening products are a familiar sight in Germany's out-of-town shopping centres. "There's a group of four or five investors coming together," Ingo Scholz, representative of the bond holders, told Reuters. "They are prepared to help the group out of its crisis." Praktiker filed for insolvency last week after talks with creditors failed, triggering fears of heavy job losses. The insolvency administrators are continuing to keep the business running while they review options for the chain, a household name in Germany. Scholz said the bondholders' plan, however, rested on banks agreeing not to separately sell the more successful Max Bahr brand. The hedge funds invested in the bond want to continue Praktiker with around 200 stores, but under the Max Bahr brand. "The Praktiker brand is tarnished," he said. Separately, a spokesman for the insolvency administrator for Praktiker, Udo Groener, said there had been interest in parts of the group from rivals and financial investors. However, the aim was to sell Praktiker as a whole. "No one should just be able to pick out the best morsels," he said. Praktiker's shares, which were worth more than 32 euros each in 2007, were up 15 percent at 0.204 euros by 1008 GMT. ($1 = 0.7637 euros) (Reporting by Alexander Huebner; Writing by Victoria Bryan; Editing by David Holmes) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions