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Published
Apr 24, 2009
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Escada launches broad refinancing package

By
Reuters
Published
Apr 24, 2009

FRANKFURT, April 24 (Reuters) - German fashion house Escada (ESCG.DE) launched a broad refinancing package that aims to raise fresh cash, cut debt and replace a 200-million-euro bond to secure its survival.


Escada Spring-Summer 2009

Escada plans to raise around 30 million euros ($39.5 million) in a capital increase in July, asked creditors to take a cut in bond repayments and is negotiating with banks on existing and new credit lines, it said late on Thursday.

Details were "still being fine-tuned", it added.

Escada shares, which have fallen about 70 percent in the past year, were down 3.3 percent at 2.96 euros by 0717 GMT while Germany's small-cap index .SDAXI was unchanged.

Escada raised alarm in March saying it needed to raise 30 million by the end of its fiscal year to Oct. 31 to stay alive.

Shareholders Wolfgang and Michael Herz are willing to invest up to 20 million if they get permission from the German financial watchdog BaFin to forego a takeover offer for the remaining shareholders, Escada said.

The German billionaire brothers together hold 24.9 percent since Escada's last capital hike in July last year when it raised almost 50 million euros.

However, the group made a loss of 70 million euros in 2007/08 as it struggles with slowing sales, exaggerated by the global economic downturn, prompting it to tap capital markets again.

The fashion house said it is in talks with other interested parties, but did not give any further detail.

Russian investor Rustam Aksenenko, with a stake of about 20 percent, could not comment immediately on Escada's refinancing, which it plans to have completed by July. ($1=.7592 Euro) (Editing by Simon Jessop)

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