Company news in brief

Comair files for business rescueComair said on Tuesday that it had entered voluntary business rescue – South Africa's bankruptcy protection process - after a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus forced airlines to suspend all commercial flights.Comair joins state-owned South African Airways, which filed for business rescue in December, as well as state-owned SA Express which was placed under "provisional liquidation" last Tuesday.The airline, which operates the British Airways franchise in South Africa and owns budget airline Kululais, is already going through a restructuring announced late in March, aimed at preserving cash, cutting costs and jobs, disposing of non-performing assets and strengthening its balance sheet.Its financial challenges, which include significantly higher fleet and maintenance costs, have been aggravated by the impact of the virus on global travel demand, Comair said.Comair chief executive Wrenelle Stander, said the company, which reported a half-year loss of R564 million in February, faced an unprecedented situation following the five-week-long coronavirus lockdown, which was partially lifted from May 1. – Nampa/ReutersStanChart Kenya restructures loan bookStandard Chartered Bank Kenya has adjusted the terms of more than 8 billion shillings (US$75.4 million) of its loans to individuals and businesses - about 6% of the total - to help them weather the impact of COVID-19, it said yesterday.Lenders in the East African nation have so far restructured 81.7 billion shillings in loans since the central bank allowed them to offer relief to distressed borrowers on March 18, the central bank said last week.StanChart Kenya's chief executive Kariuki Ngari said some borrowers whose businesses or earnings have been hit by the pandemic were struggling with cash flows, creating the need for them to restructure their loan repayments.Nearly a third of the restructured loans for the entire banking industry belong to the tourism sector, which has ground to a halt in the wake of the pandemic, the central bank said.Other sectors which have been affected include building and construction, trade, and manufacturing, as well as small and medium enterprises. – Nampa/ReutersTotal cannot acquire Algeria assetsEnergy major Total has been told by Occidental that it cannot acquire oil and gas assets in Algeria that were part of an US$8.8 billion deal reached by the companies on Anadarko's assets in Africa.As part of its cash-raising to fund its purchase of Anadarko, Occidental agreed with Total that Total would take over some of Anadarko's assets.The Anadarko assets in are in Algeria, Ghana, Mozambique and South Africa. The deal in Mozambique, which includes a giant LNG project has been concluded.Algerian authorities had moved to block Total's acquisition of the assets.Total said the decision was based on the objection of Algiers, and Occidental will remain as operator unless it can find a way to sell it to Total.On the assets in Ghana, Total said things were moving on with the deal, but declined to comment further. – Nampa/ReutersAirbnb cuts 1 900 jobsAirbnb Inc is laying off 25% of its workforce, or nearly 1 900 employees, the home rental startup said on Tuesday, as the Covid-19 pandemic brings global travel to a near standstill."Airbnb's business has been hit hard, with revenue this year forecasted to be less than half of what we earned in 2019," founder Brian Chesky said in a memo to employees.With millions of tourists canceling plans for vacations, work trips and family visits, Airbnb earlier this year said it was allocating US$250 million to help offset losses incurred by hosts.In late March, it suspended its marketing activities to save US$800 million in 2020 and informed workers that its founders will take no salary for the next six months while top executives would take a 50% cut.Last month, Airbnb said private equity firms Silver Lake and Sixth Street Partners would invest US$1 billion in the startup, raising its cash reserves to around US$4 billion. – Nampa/ReutersHertz gets more time from lendersStruggling car rental company Hertz Global Holdings Inc said on Tuesday its lenders have extended the deadline for certain loan repayments, giving it more time to come up with a financing plan to avoid a possible bankruptcy.The deadline has now been extended until May 22, the company said in a filing. The earlier deadline was May 4 and it has been in talks with the lenders after skipping a payment that was due April 27.Hertz said it will talk to stakeholders to draw up a strategy that would account for the economic impact of Covid-19 pandemic and its cash needs.Last month, it decided to lay off 10 000 employees across its North America operations from a workforce that totalled 38 000 at 2019 end and enlisted restructuring experts to address a cash crunch that made its US$17 billion debt potentially unsustainable. – Nampa/Reuters

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