MaximG, I'm not an expert in this area and it would depend on the structure of the deal but I would imagine such a significant move would require shareholder approval.
The list of major banks that Centro have been negotiating with are well publicised and yes some of those entities you list will be related to the major lenders.
I guess the thing to remember in this situation is that the banks are in the business of lending, not owning businesses (I'm making a generalisation here) so getting their money back including capitalised interest would be all they are interested in over the long term, in fact it would be considered great business to get out and make a nice earner along the way....
The RAMS example is especially valid because the major shareholders were "on side" as it were with the decision to sell out so the retail investors didn't really get a look in as far as any vote on the deal was concerned. Even though in the end sufficient shareholders went along like lambs to the slaughter (pun intended!)
From my perspective in the Centro case I'd like to see the board and management (a good number of whom have their finger prints all over the company getting into trouble in the first place), come up with a more creative solution for delivering some value to the existing shareholders.
At the same time they could preserve what should really be a great business in a simplified structure.
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