Just a few days after Peter Hahn GmbH filed a protective shield application with the responsible district court in Stuttgart, the clothing provider is now said to be in talks with a potential investor.
Sales efforts had already been made before the protective shield procedure was initiated, but these had so far been unsuccessful. The risk of a takeover was too high for interested parties, but after the restructuring process was announced, interested parties came forward, said the restructuring representative Andreas Kleinschmidt from the law firm White & Case LLP to the trade magazine Textilwirtschaft. Kleinschmidt and Peter Hahn GmbH have not yet responded to a request from FashionUnited.
Peter Hahn hopes for a future with industry insiders
One such investor, with whom Peter Hahn hopes to reach an agreement soon, is already active in the industry and has concrete plans for the retailer. In this case, adjustments to the business model are essential, but business operations are currently continuing without restrictions. There are currently no reductions in staff.
While the insolvency administrator said that the protective shield proceedings had not been initiated due to insolvency, he nevertheless admitted to the textile industry that there was a need for financing. Equistone Partners Europe, the current owner, has signaled that it does not want to make any further investments.
However, Kleinschmidt emphasized that Peter Hahn, unlike the insolvency proceedings under self-administration of the women’s fashion provider Madeleine Mode GmbH, which also belongs to the TriStyle Group, was neither a problem with the product range nor with the core of the brand. Nevertheless, according to Kleinschmidt, the proceedings at Madeleine, as well as consumer reluctance, price increases and lengthy logistics and shipping problems, had an impact on Peter Hahn.
When the protective shield application was announced, it was said that the retailer had had “intensive discussions” and negotiations with financiers and investors over the past few months about the long-term realignment and refinancing of the company. However, the final implementation of the restructuring requires measures that can be implemented most “quickly and efficiently” through a protective shield procedure, according to the announcement last week.
The restructuring and agreement with investors is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.