April 20199 Apr 2019 10:32
'Relieve pressure'
Days before a lender-imposed deadline is due to expire, Sports Direct at the weekend offered to underwrite Β£150m of new equity funding for the retailer, but only if Mr Ashley was appointed chief executive and Β£148m of debt was written off by lenders, who include banks and hedge funds.
The department store chain's financiers are considering the offer, according to City sources.
Sports Direct, which owns a near-30% stake in the retailer, confirmed its proposals on Monday and set out that it was still considering a Β£61.4m bid to take full control of Debenhams.
In a stock exchange announcement, Sports Direct said it had until 17:00 on 22 April to announce a firm offer or walk away.
While both ideas were being considered, it would pursue only one of them in the event it was agreed, it added.
Over the weekend, in a letter to Debenhams, the firm said it was "keen to be a supportive shareholder and financier".