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A Dutch court has postponed a key vote on retailer Steinhoff's multibillion-rand proposal to settle with claimants who lost out in its dramatic share price plunge.
A vote to either accept or reject Steinhoff's proposed €943 million (roughly R17 billion) payout was set to take place in an Amsterdam district court on 30 June. This has now been postponed by an order of court to 3 September. No reason was provided in the ruling.
During the vote a "committee of representation" will vote on behalf of claimants who have filed claims against Steinhoff with an administrator. At least 75% of the committee members must support Steinhoff's proposal for it to become effective.
A separate vote is set to take place in South Africa, for which no date has yet been set. Only if both votes approve the scheme by requisite majorities will claimants be paid out.
Steinhoff has repeatedly urged claimants to support the settlement process, saying the alternative - liquidation - would be a bad outcome for all.
The retailer's global settlement proposal involves paying out €943 million (roughly R17 billion) in compensation to claimants who have been divided into three classes.
When contributions from insurance groups underwriting Steinhoff's liability cover and its former auditors Deloitte are added, the total payout – a mixture of cash and shares in Steinhoff's subsidiary Pepkor - comes to just over €1 billion.
The Stellenbosch-headquartered retailer has said that settling the claims against it in South Africa and Europe is a "critical priority," which would free it from the threat of litigation and enable it to focus on restructuring and debt reduction.
If the Steinhoff's proposal is accepted, litigants would receive a proportion of their verified claims according to a term sheet drawn up by Steinhoff. They would in return drop all legal challenges against the retailer, which would not admit any liability.
