US-based hedge fund Whitebox Advisors is backing a restructuring proposal for Varta AG that would allow ordinary shareholders to provide new funds, according to people familiar with the matter, as the struggling German battery-maker negotiates with lenders to cut its debt load.
Whitebox has a position in Varta’s €250 million ($275 million) of promissory notes — or Schuldschein debt — and has put forward the proposal as part of a group of Schuldschein investors, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. Varta stakeholders, including potential investor Porsche AG, have been in negotiations over a compromise that satisfies most parties, after a group of senior lenders and Porsche presented competing plans.