IVG shares plunge after restructuring talks with creditors collapse

German listed property company IVG Immobilien saw its share price plunge over 50% early on Wednesday after announcing late on Tuesday that debt restructuring talks with its creditor groups have collapsed.

The share has become a penny stock on the Frankfurt exchange and ended Wednesday at €0.17, a decline of 34% on the previous day's close.

In a statement, Germany's largest listed real estate investor by assets under management said on Tuesday evening that its future as a going concern was under review after the creditors of its so-called Syn Loan I, Syn Loan II and convertible bond failed to submit a restructuring plan by the agreed deadline of 30 July 2013.

With nearly €4 bn of debt, IVG has been trying for weeks to reach an agreement with creditors on swapping some of the debt for equity.

'No such joint, consensual proposal has been put forward by the three creditor groups - against the company’s expectations and despite repeated appeals,' IVG noted.

The management board is now 'carefully examining' the company's ability to continue as a going concern. Results of the review will be published 'as soon as possible', the Bonn-based company added.

The announcement comes a week after creditor Aurelius Capital Management questioned IVG's recovery plan saying the model presented by the company was based on ‘erroneous assumptions'.

Last week CEO Wolfgang Schaefers told reporters that the company would instigate an official procedure for seeking protection from creditors should it fail to reach a consensual deal or a positive forecast for the company as a going concern.

Newswire Reuters reported that IVG could seek to make use of a German law that gives companies up to three months of breathing space to try to fix their finances.