The petition to appoint a provisional liquidator to bookstore chain Steimatzky has been annulled by agreement. Yesterday, the Haifa District Court approved the request of Steimatzky and its creditors to strike out by agreement the petition that had been filed against the chain, thus removing the threat of a stay of proceedings or liquidation that had been hanging over Steimatzky.
In the past three weeks, since the acquisition of Steimatzky by the Greenberg group and its partners, several publishers tried to prevent the acquisition through a petition to liquidate the chain. Two weeks ago, several creditors petitioned for liquidation, because of the chain's debts, refusing the debt settlement that had been proposed. This group comprised publishers Modan, Am Oved, and Opus, and other, smaller publishers. However, the appointment of new management at Steimatzky ten days ago, under Eyal Greenberg, son of Yafit Greenberg, as CEO, indicated that the chain was setting out on a new path, while the chances of the petition succeeding receded, since most of the creditors accepted the settlement offered of a 30% haircut and a rescheduling of debts. At the end of last week, Am Oved, one of the largest publishers in Israel, joined the debt settlement, effectively burying the liquidation option.
Against this background, the other creditors and Steimatzky made their joint request for the liquidation petition to be struck out. The judge agreed to the request, without awarding costs.
Steimatzky's management said in a statement, "The Steimatzky chain is setting out on a new and better path. Now, with the removal of the empty threats against us, our entire attention is devoted to developing the chain and to the streamlining plans, for the sake of our loyal customers and with the help of our partners, the chain's dedicated workers."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 14, 2014
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