De Pardieu Brocas Maffei has advised the banks in the successful financial restructuring of Potel & Chabot, the emblematic French caterer, thanks to a financial support of €18 million from its historical shareholders (Andera Partners, Accor, Dassault and Savencia) and from bpifrance via the tourism fund.
To enable the group to overcome its difficulties and emerge from the crisis, the main companies of Potel & Chabot, their lenders and their shareholders have negotiated and signed an agreement to restructure the group’s debt. The agreement, approved by the Paris Commercial Court on May 25, 2021, requires Accor, Andera Partners, the Dassault family and Savencia, Potel & Chabot’s main shareholders, to reinject equity in proportion to their holdings, while Bpifrance has taken a stake in the group’s capital via its tourism fund. Debt was partly reduced, while another part of the senior and mezzanine debt was converted into quasi-equity or rescheduled, depending on the case.
Negotiations with all of its financial partners have enabled Potel & Chabot to reduce its net debt by 45% of its pre-crisis level, in addition to the efforts of its lessors to support the exit from the crisis.
The government’s support through the various mechanisms put in place as part of the health crisis was decisive.