Löwen Play tweaks lockup agreement on restructuring, accelerates timing

German arcade gaming group Löwen Play GmbH on Jan. 26 said that it had amended the lockup agreement previously announced Dec. 23, 2021, with an ad hoc committee representing roughly 80% of its existing bondholders.

The company said in a statement this week that over 97% of bondholders have given the green light to the lockup agreement. The restructuring proposal will see creditors take a 95% equity stake in the company, with the group's €350 million of 5.375% secured notes due 2022 reinstated as higher-coupon bonds due 2025, which will be issued alongside €130 million of payment-in-kind, or PIK, notes placed at a new holding company.

Under the changes announced Jan. 26, the timing will be pushed forward, and the transaction will be implemented through a court-approved scheme of agreement. There have also been several changes to the structure of the transaction, which the company says will be beneficial to all stakeholders. The firm now hopes to get the consent solicitation/exchange offer underway in January or February, with the scheme meeting, sanction and effectiveness following in February or March.

The new holding structure will include four Luxembourg-incorporated entities and one Germany law entity. The new €130 million HoldCo PIK notes — which pay annual cash interest of 0.5% as well as annual PIK interest of 12% — will sit at Dice MidCo, a SARL incorporated under Luxembourg law that will be a 100%-owned subsidiary of the newly created Dice HoldCo.