From Iceland — Iceland Sale Deal Made, Icesave Could Be Paid Off Before EFTA Trial

Iceland Sale Deal Made, Icesave Could Be Paid Off Before EFTA Trial

Published February 16, 2012

The resolution committee for the former Landsbanki has confirmed a deal for the sale of its stake in Iceland Foods, with revenue from it being able to more than cover the remaining debt owed from Icesave.
The former Landsbanki still owned a stake in the food chain, but The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times now report that after lengthy negotiations, founder and executive chief of Iceland Foods Malcolm Walker is now set to pay about 1.5 billion GBP for Landsbanki’s share of the chain.

“I am delighted that the Icelandic banks have recognized the importance of management to the continuing success of the business, and have been supportive in giving us the exclusive right to pursue negotiations with them,” Walker said in a statement. “I have every hope that we will be able to bring these to a successful conclusion within the coming weeks. This gives us a fantastic opportunity to achieve a deal that will be in the best long-term interests of Iceland Foods, our 22,000 staff and the five million customers who shop with us each week.”

RÚV reports that the proceeds from the sale for Landsbanki stand to be at about 500 million ISK. This would be more than enough to pay back the remainder of what is owed for the Icesave debt.
Iceland is still expected to appear in EFTA court over the delay of paying back Icesave, but having the debt clear before trial begins could work very favourably for Iceland.

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