UPDATE 1-Lucchini owners, creditors reach debt deal -sources
* Debt deal to ease the way for Lucchini sale
(Adds details, background)MILAN, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Shareholders and creditor banks of
Italian steel maker Lucchini have reached a preliminary deal to
restructure the group’s 700 million euro ($970 million) debt,
two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters on Friday.”An outline agreement has been reached,” said one source,
adding that “nothing has been signed yet”.As part of the preliminary deal, creditor banks have agreed
to accept 100 million euros in partial debt repayment, which is
less than the 180 million euros they expected earlier, another
source said.The sources would not be drawn on full details of the deal.Lucchini, owned by Russian steel tycoon Alexei Mordashov and
his steel group Severstal , declined to comment on the
matter.Lucchini has been locked for more than a year in talks to
restructure its 712 million euro debt pile with Italian banks
Intesa Sanpaolo , UniCredit , Banca Monte dei
Paschi di Siena and French lender BNP Paribas
.The final debt agreement, which is pending approval by
boards of creditor banks, would ease the way for Lucchini’s
shareholders to sell the group.Mordashov, who bought a majority stake in Lucchini from
Severstal for 1 euro in 2010, said in June a long-term solution
for the debt-laden group would involve a strategic owner but the
buyer was yet to be found.
($1 = 0.721 Euros)
UPDATE 3-Innkeepers, Cerberus in settlement talks
* New deal would lower purchase price — sourceBy Nick BrownNEW YORK, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Innkeepers USA Trust said it is in settlement talks to avoid a trial over
the collapse of a planned $1.12 billion deal with Cerberus
Capital Management LP and Chatham Lodging Trust.The trial had been expected to start Monday in U.S.
Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, but was postponed until Tuesday.
Innkeepers said if a resolution is not reached, it will be
ready for trial on Tuesday.Innkeepers, the bankrupt operator of 72 hotels under the
Hilton, Marriott and other brands, sued CerberusChatham in August after the firms backed out of a
joint venture agreement to buy 64 of Innkeepers’ properties.Cerberus and Chatham invoked a “material adverse event”
clause in the deal that allowed them to walk away if something
happened that could materially alter Innkeepers’ business.Innkeepers Chief Restructuring Officer Marc Beilinson said
on Monday a settlement had not yet been reached and the trial
would proceed if the sides could not reach agreement by the end
of the day.”Innkeepers will be fully prepared to proceed with
litigation,” Beilinson said in a statement.A source close to the talks told Reuters discussions began
over the weekend and that the sides had exchanged proposals and
were far along in the process. The deal would feature a
reduction in the purchase price, said this person, who spoke
anonymously on details of a possible settlement because the
talks are private.A spokesman for Cerberus could not immediately be reached
on Monday. An attorney for the company declined to comment. A
lawyer for Chatham did not return a call seeking comment.Innkeepers filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2010,
saying its debt load made it too difficult to keep up its
properties.The invocation of the “material adverse event” clause sent
chills through the hotel industry and contributed to fears of a
double-dip recession. In pretrial court filings, Innkeepers
said its buyers used the clause as a pretext to negotiate a
lower price.It said its business was stable and its hotels had
performed “at or near budget” and it sought to force the buyers
to close on the sale.Cerberus and Chatham said downgrades in the lodging sector,
weakening hotel asset sales, and a 30 percent to 40 percent
decline in the stocks of competing hotel operators contributed
to their decision to walk away from the deal.Judge Shelley Chapman had agreed to open her courtroom on
Monday despite the Columbus Day holiday after Innkeepers pushed
for a quick trial in hopes of getting back on its feet in time
to maximize its sale value.But spectators who showed up at the courthouse on Monday
morning were turned away at the door by court officials, who
said the trial had been pushed back. Official court filings
announcing the delay were not published until late on Monday
morning.The case is Innkeepers USA Trust et al v. Cerberus Series
Four Holdings LLC et al, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern
District of New York, No. 11-2557.The Innkeepers bankruptcy is In re Innkeepers USA Trust, in
the same court, No. 10-13800.
