El Corte Ingles department store is the biggest privately held company in Spanish. On Monday, the company said that it had reached an agreement to refinance three quarters of its debt amounting to a total of EUR5 billion.
The company had been hit falling sales and austerity. El Corte Ingles is a respected retailer in Spain and among the biggest employers in the country. The retail company had cut its product prices to be able to compete with cheaper retailers, particularly in the food markets.
The department store chain announced in a statement that it had agreed to refinance its debt with aid from lenders BBVA, Santander, Sabadell, CaixaBank, Bankia and Popular. The deal was to refinance EUR3.8 billion or 76% percent of the company's debt. The new loans would reach maturity by 2021.
In addition, El Corte Ingles said that with its EUR7.4 billion assets and annual revenues of approximately EUR15 billion, it would be able to persuade other banks to refinance its remaining debt.
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