Debt-laden UK construction and services giant Interserve is nearing a deal with lenders that would see it trade around half its projected debt for shares in the company, Sky News reports.
Citing City sources, Sky said the company was "closing in on a rescue deal", which it could announce as soon as this week.
The debt-for-equity swap, which the company has been seeking since December, was likely to involve trading around £300m of its debt for new shares, Sky said. Â
Like Carillion, Interserve builds hospitals and other public sector assets, and holds government outsourcing contracts.
Shares in the group plunged in November when the company revealed that its 2018 year-end net debt could be as high as £650m, which it put down to troubled energy from waste contracts. Â
Sky said a successful deal would come as a relief to government ministers, who want to avoid another Carillion-style collapse.
Last week Interserve celebrated the handing over of an energy from waste plant in Dunbar, Scotland, which it was contracted to build with Babcock & Wilcox.
Interserve executive director Dougie Sutherland said the handover was "an important milestone in the transformation of Interserve".Â
Interserve’s net debt has risen steeply in the last two years, from £274m in 2016 to £502.6m at end of 2017, according to its annual reports.
Photograph: The completed energy from waste plant in Dunbar, Scotland, which Interserve built with Babcock & Wilcox, will power 39,000 homes (Babcock & Wilcox)
See also:
