Bakery firm Aryzta, which operates the Otis Spunkmeyer and Cuisine de France businesses, has said that it has received 'unanimous consent' from its lenders to amend the group's banking facilities.
In a statement, the Swiss-Irish firm said 'Further to its announcement of 11 September 2018, Aryzta has received the unanimous consent of its lenders to amend its existing Facilities Agreement and has now signed definitive documentation amending the Facilities Agreement'.
Debt Burden
The group will welcome the news as it seeks to press ahead with a planned fund raising plan, as part of which it is seeking to raise around €800 million, to ease its debt burden.
However, Swiss investor Gregor Joos has sought to block the capital increase, saying that the group should focus its attention on selling its assets and simplifying its management structure.
In a letter to Aryzta chairman Gary McGann, Joos called for the sale of the group's North American operation as well as its 49% stake in French frozen foods retailer Picard, Bloomberg reported.
"What the activist is doing can be very dangerous for Aryzta, because it can start a squabble at a company that's already battered and fighting for survival," Bloomberg reported Patrik Schwendimann, an analyst at Zuercher Kantonalbank, as saying.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
