Four Seasons ‘not for sale’
DEBT-laden Four Seasons Health Care has today denied reports that it has appointed Deutsche Bank to sound out prospective buyers.
A spokesperson for the Wilmslow-based care homes operator said it was not in discussions with any other party about a possible sale or merger.
“We haven’t embarked on the sale process and are not in discussion with any party about any sort of deal,” he said.
He added that Four Seasons was still considering the appointment of an unnamed investment bank to help the group explore all possible outcomes for resolving its debt situation.
“If and when they are appointed it will be to look at all the available options,” the spokesperson added.
It is understood that if the situation does change it will be Deutsche Bank that is appointed.
The company has a complex capital structure with many tranches of debt and has been in default of its £1.57bn of loans since last September.
In February the junior creditors of Four Seasons Health Care increased pressure to bring forward the financial restructuring of the company.
They served it with a 90-day default notice, bringing the deadline of a standstill agreement held with senior creditors forward by 11 weeks to May 5.
If negotiations collapse the creditors – of which the Royal Bank of Scotland is the biggest – could push the company into insolvency. Four Seasons employs around 20,000 people, and operates more than 400 nursing and care homes.
The company’s ultimate parent is Three Delta, a UK fund backed by Qatari investors, which bought Four Seasons for £1.4bn in summer 2006 from Allianz Capital.
