wsj article

Here you go:

Looks all good to me.

Centro CEO Is Hopeful
For Later Debt Deadline
By KRIS HUDSON
WSJ
April 18, 2008; Page B8

The chief executive of Centro Properties Group, which owns nearly 700 shopping centers in the U.S., expressed optimism that the company's lenders will extend its April 30 deadline for paying off $4.9 billion in short-term debt to Sept. 30.

But if the Australian retail-property company fails to land the extension, Glenn Rufrano said in an interview that Centro would need to file for the Australian equivalent of bankruptcy. The Australian bankruptcy system usually results in liquidation of assets rather than reorganization as an ongoing company. Mr. Rufrano said it was unlikely that Centro wouldn't be granted an extension.

Centro, based in Melbourne, twice has persuaded its lenders to grant it extensions, first to Feb. 15 and then to April 30. The company, which owns 128 retail properties in Australia, got into a liquidity squeeze late last year when it couldn't refinance billions of dollars in short-term loans that it used to buy New York real-estate investment trust New Plan Excel Realty Trust.

In a scramble to repay the debt, Centro has solicited bids for two of its investment funds -- one that holds 25 Australian properties and one with 30 U.S. properties. The company also has tried to find suitors willing to provide it capital in exchange for equity.

Bids collected earlier this month averaged one Australian dollar (94 U.S. cents) per share for that equity infusion, according to people familiar with the process. That was far below Centro's expectations for a stock that traded near A$10 per share last year before Centro's collapse. Bids for the funds also were deemed insufficient.

Centro's plan, contingent on the banks' approval, is to extend the deadline by five months to give the economy time to recover, perhaps yielding higher bids. "We are working on a schedule that will not put the company in a position where it has to take large discounts (in property sales) or equity that we believe doesn't justify the value of the company," Mr. Rufrano said. "The reason we can do this is because we've been given good support from our banks to not force us to make a deal" to sell properties or equity at detrimental prices.

But if Centro cannot persuade its banks to grant the reprieve, "The company would go into administration, which is pretty drastic here in Australia," Mr. Rufrano said.

Write to Kris Hudson at [email protected]