The embattled German bank, WestLB, is looking to sell its 43% stake in the Odeon cinema chain. WestLB is looking to offload the majority of investments held within its troubled principal finance group. The bank is seeking to refinance a ã290m bridging loan for Odeon that would free it up to sell the stake early in the New Year.
Any deal would depend on the bank restructuring the bridging loan, which was arranged by the head of WestLBââ¬â¢s principal finance unit, Robin Saunders.
The consortium, which bought Odeon for ã431m earlier this year, also includes the property entrepreneur, Robert Tchenguiz, the private investor, Guy Dellal, and the Entertainment Groupââ¬â¢s Nigel and Trevor Green. Tchenguiz and Dellal control a 35% stake in Odeon, while the Greens control the remaining 22%.
Odeon is in talks with several banks as well as WestLB about refinancing the loan, which is due for repayment in March. Once it decides to initiate a formal sales process, WestLB will have to offer its share to existing investors.
Tchenguiz is thought to be interested in taking on WestLBââ¬â¢s stake, but will only do so with the cooperation of the other investors. Odeon, which operates 97 cinemas across the UK, is attractive to investors such as Tchenguiz because it includes around ã200m worth of property.
