Lion is in deeply in debt, and looking for ways to get out of it. In June, buyout firm Triton Partners, which has a small stake in Findus' senior debt, made a rival proposal for ownership of the company. Senior lenders were due to vote today on which restructuring plan to take forward. Either would require a two-thirds majority to gain approval.
Lion's own proposal is to said to be to sell some of Findus units to generate additional liquidity, according to two people familiar with the situation who communicated with Financial Times. Findus' fish finger products, they said, are losing space at a major supermarket chain, and the whole Norwegian Findus unit is suffering strong price pressure from competitors. The same people said that Lion has named frozen food group Iglo as a potential buyer.
Iglo, owned by private equity firm Permira, acquired Findus Italy from Unilever in 2010. Ironically, Permira failed just last month to sell Iglo, which owns British Birds Eye as well as Iglo operations in Germany. Like Lion, Permira has debt problems. Lion has proposed injecting £220 million in the form of debt facilities to save Findus. The proposal has the support of the Findus board together with a group of the largest senior lenders.
