Steinhoff appoints Louis du Preez as new permanent CEO, shares soar

19th November 2018 By: Reuters

Steinhoff appoints Louis du Preez as new permanent CEO, shares soar

Steinhoff's commercial director Louis du Preez will take over as the new permanent CEO, sending its shares soaring more than 16 percent on Monday.

Du Preez will replace acting CEO Danie van der Merwe who will step down at the end of December, a year after the retailer revealed multi-billion dollar holes in its balance sheet.

Steinhoff's former permanent CEO Markus Jooste, who resigned after the scandal broke, is being investigated over the crisis that wiped more than 90 percent off Steinhoff's market value and forced it to sell assets to fund working capital.

Steinhoff in October asked creditors for a one-month extension relating to its debt restructuring as it negotiates documents required to implement the plan. About 85 percent of creditors supported the extension.

Steinhoff's shares traded 13.66% higher at R2.08 by 11:51 GMT.

"It is not too surprising who they have gone for given his role in driving the restructuring and this would be seen as a positive," said Mark Hodgson, equities trader at Avoir Capital Markets.