Serious repercussions expected for Nacon?
Following the refusal of the banks to allocate a refinancing plan (in the amount of 43 million euros) to allow Bigben to repay a loan whose due date was February 19 (refusal motivated by a lack of information in the contract), Nacon finds itself in quite a bind. The two entities have therefore decided to pause the price of their shares on the stock market – given that they were collapsing – the time to find an effective way to repay this debt, as Bigben indicates in a press release:
“ In view of the financial difficulties encountered by the Company in the face of this situation, in particular its cash flow situation, the Company immediately initiated discussions with its main creditors and financial partners in order to enable it to ensure the continuity of its operations and to restructure its debt, particularly bond debt. The Company plans to resort to procedures intended to facilitate the restructuring of its debt under the aegis of the commercial court. In view of the above, the Company announces that it has asked Euronext Paris to suspend the price of its shares (FR0000074072), and its Bonds (FR0014001WC2) from the opening of markets today. It was also decided to suspend the liquidity contract on the Bigben Interactive share. »
If it is indeed Bigben which is at the heart of this financial problem, this also greatly impacts the French publisher that we find behind Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown, Hell is Us, RoboCop: Rogue City or the very recent Styx: Blades of Greed. We still do not know what the repercussions could be for Bigben apart from a legal recovery, and especially for Nacon, which is watching its major shareholder discuss with several partners to get back on its feet financially.