As announced on 2 April 2019, the Company and investment group VEB/European Investors
have agreed to extend the suspension of the collective action between them in The
Netherlands until 15 May 2019. Please refer to the full announcement for further information.
Separately, as announced on 21 February 2019, the Company has received a petition by a
group of shareholders for inquiry proceedings before the Enterprise Chamber of the
Amsterdam Court of Appeal (the "Enterprise Chamber"). The petition includes a request to
appoint an Investigator as well as an additional member of the Supervisory Board of the
Company whose role will include oversight that information is provided to shareholders
adequately and in the context of any inquiry to be ordered by the Enterprise Chamber. A
hearing is scheduled to take place on 23 May 2019.
Financial statements
As announced on 5 April 2019, whilst substantial progress has been made towards finalising the
Company's financial statements for financial years 2017 and 2018, incorporating the outputs
from the PwC forensic investigation have proved to be exceptionally complex and time
consuming from both an accounting and audit perspective. In light of this, and despite
significant efforts being exerted by all parties, the Company now estimates that it will publish
its consolidated financial statements on the following dates:
• 2017 financial results – 7 May 2019
• 2018 financial results – 18 June 2019
This revised timetable is also expected to impact the timing of the release of the unaudited
2019 interim results, currently scheduled for 28 June 2019. The Company will update the market
with a new date in due course.
Please refer to the full announcement for further information.
Update on Group governance
As announced on 5 April 2019, the Company is in the process of developing a remediation
plan under the auspices of the Supervisory Board. As part of this, an initial project plan has
been produced and a new position of Chief Compliance and Risk Officer has been created;
Louis Strydom has been appointed to this role with effect from 1 July 2019. Please refer to the
full announcement for further information.
On 11 April 2019, Alexandre Nodale, stepped down from his roles as the Company's Deputy
CEO and member of the Management Board by mutual agreement with the Company's
Supervisory Board. Following the financial restructuring of the Conforama Group, Alexandre
has also stepped down from his role as CEO of the Conforama Group with the appointment
of Helen Lee Bouygues as Chairman and Cédric Dugardin as CEO. Alexandre remains
available to support an orderly transition of his responsibilities at the Company and Conforama
Group level. The Company would like to thank Alexandre for his commitment to the Group
and his contribution to the Management Board since his appointment on 19 December 2017,
while retaining his operational responsibilities as CEO of the Conforama Group.
The post of Deputy CEO was created in the aftermath of the discovery of accounting
irregularities at the Group in late 2017. With the financial restructuring of the Group entering its
final stages, and with Louis du Preez in post as permanent CEO with effect from 1 January 2019,
the Group does not expect to appoint a new Deputy CEO to its Management Board.
As previously reported, the onboarding process between the Group and the nominees
identified for the Newco 3 board and the boards of the key intermediate holding companies
(in addition to the two directors nominated by the Company, Louis du Preez and Theodore de
Klerk) in the SEAG group is ongoing. The Group expects to announce the candidates publicly
prior to the Restructuring Effective Date.
Current management priorities
The key priorities for the management team currently include:
• Obtaining consent to the amendments and modifications to the SEAG CVA and the
SFHG CVA ahead of launch of the implementation process and otherwise planning for
the implementation of the Restructuring;
• Working with the nominees of the new management boards to assist their
familiarisation process with the SEAG group and its restructuring;
• Maintaining stability across the Group and managing the ongoing operations of the
Group, including actively monitoring cash flows, supporting operating performance,
managing other liabilities and funding needs that arise at the operating company
level;
• Finalising the 2017 and 2018 Annual Financial Statements;
• Continuing to consider the contents of the PwC report and to progressing various
actions as appropriate together with the roll out of the Remediation Plan;
• Monitoring and defending any litigation claims brought against the Group and
identifying and pursuing recoveries where available; and
• Engaging with the wider stakeholder group and regulators.
Shareholders and other investors in the Company are advised to exercise caution when
dealing in the securities of the Group.
JSE Sponsor: PSG Capital
Stellenbosch, 29 April 2019