Permira hands over Dinosol keys

The private equity firm has been forced to write off its investment six years after entering into the supermarket chain, which operates under the Supersol, HiperDino, CashDiplo brands.

As part of a financial restructuring, the lenders – led by Caja Madrid, Société Générale and Lloyds-HBOS – will inject €30m of new debt into the company in order to guarantee the payment of Dinosol's suppliers. This comes after the syndicate, comprising more than 20 banks and hedge funds, provided the company with €200m last year as part of a similar restructuring to which Permira also contributed.

The investor is said to have been keen to contribute to this latest transaction, but it failed to convince the business' creditors. More than 90% voted for the debt-for-equity swap, opting to assume responsibility for the entire share capital.

Dinosol, which currently has €460m of debt on its books, was purchased by Permira from Ahold for €685m in 2004. The buyout was sourced through an auction run by JP Morgan and gave Permira 100% control of the company. A total of 25% of the company's debt has changed hands on the secondary market over the past six years.

The transaction, which is expected to close on 31 March, has been supported by advisers from Alix Partners and investment bank Houlihan Lokey.

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• Topics
• Southern Europe
• Exits
• Consumer
• Debt-for-equity