Absence of ‘white knight’ may derail Uniwide rehab plan

At the rate things are going, it seems the Uniwide Group may be headed towards liquidation.

After it was abruptly abandoned by its supposed strategic investor, the French retail giant Casino Guichard-Perrachon early this year, Uniwide now finds its rehabilitation plan in jeopardy since no other "white knight" has come forward to rescue the debt-saddled flagship chain Uniwide Sales Inc. and its sister companies.

Although there were earlier reports that several interested parties led by the US Wal-Mart chain and two investor groups from Hong Kong and Taiwan have sent feelers for exploratory buy-in negotiations with Uniwide, there has been no indications of any breakthrough agreements yet, which has apparently made the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) "impatient."

SEC sources said the corporate watchdog is now bent on imposing a strict deadline for Uniwide as well as its SEC-appointed interim receiver to at least gain inroads in talks with potential investors to avoid the possibility of declaring a "failure of corporate rehabilitation" which could eventually lead to liquidation.

The SEC approved Uniwide’s rehabilitation plan in February last year after the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Casino for the latter to gain control of the local chain upon infusing P4 billion in additional liquidity.

But Casino backed out of the deal and opted not to extend the MOU which expired on Dec. 31, 2000 even as the Uniwide receiver had clinched the much-delayed approval of the creditor banks on the rehabilitation plan. Casino and Uniwide said they could not execute the fund infusion and corporate rehabilitation pending the consent of all of Uniwide’s creditor banks. Uniwide has a debt load of about P16 billion, over half of which are owed to the banks.

The French retailer reportedly said it was abandoning its plan to acquire Uniwide, not because of the country’s political uncertainties, but because creditors failed to agree on how to rehabilitate the discount retailer.

With the absence of a white knight, the creditor banks of Uniwide – led by UCPB, International Exchange Bank and Metrobank – have sought a dacion en pago or payment in kind arrangement with the SEC. – Conrado Diaz Jr.