www.debenhams.com
Debenhams is a United Kingdom department store group with a mix of own brands and third-party brands. As of August 29, 2009, the Company had 154 stores.
Debenhams raising £323 mln to repay debt, current trading robust
Debenhams PLC (LSE: DEB) announced a £323 million fundraising to pay down debt and said it remains confident in the company's trading strategy and the outturn for the full year, even though the outlook for consumer confidence for the remainder of the 2009 financial year is uncertain.
Pretax profit and EBITDA for the 12 weeks to May 23 2009 were both ahead of the prior year, it said in a statement.
The department store chain plans to raise the money via a firm placing and a placing and open offer of new shares - making up 40 percent and 60 percent of the total, respectively - at a price determined by a market book build process which commences immediately and is expected to close later today.
Chief executive Rob Templeman said: “I believe that our trading for the year to date is a robust performance given the challenging nature of the market. The proposed capital raising together with the cash generation of this business will substantially reduce the group's net debt position and it gives us operational and financial flexibility for the future.”

















