CAPE TOWN - After an inclusive meeting with bankers and a report the German investors are suing Steinhoff International Holdings, the company shares have dropped drastically.
Over a 2 week period, Steinhoff reported accounting irregularities, causing the stock to drop around 90%.
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The shares traded 33% lower at 0.31 euros as of 10:07am in Frankfurt, where the company moved its primary listing from Johannesburg in 2015 as part of a breakneck expansion.
In Johannesburg, the shares were down 29.5% to R4.93 as of 11:51am. More than 40 million shares traded, almost double the three-month daily average.
In a statement, TILP law firm said that the case against the owner of Mattress Firm in the US and Conforama in France was filed in Frankfurt district court.
The lawsuit is likely to be the first of many cases filed by investors angry over their losses.
In an attempt to satisfy lenders with a presentation in London, the company said creditors were withdrawing support and that the magnitude of the accounting errors were still unknown.
TILP blames the company for not informing cpaital markets about the issues.
TILP is also are appealing to shareholders that bought stock between December 7, 2015, and December 5, 2017, to join the lawsuit.
Steinhoff will sell non-core assets to boost liquidity and has hired PwC to investigate the accounts.
Chief executive officer Markus Jooste and billionaire chairman Christo Wiese have both quit in the aftermath of the scandal but Danie van de Merwe has been apointed acting CEO, to deal with the situation.
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