JSE Seeking to Determine if Steinhoff Breached Listing Rules

(Bloomberg) -- The Johannesburg Stock Exchange is in talks with Steinhoff International Holdings NV to determine whether the furniture retailer breached any of its listing rules.

The bourse will also be in contact with the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, where Steinhoff has a primary listing, to bring to its attention various press articles involving the retailer, Andre Visser, the general manager of issuer regulation at the JSE, said in an emailed response on Thursday. It also wants to establish whether there were any breaches of the German bourse’s rules and what the market is doing about it, he said.

Steinhoff, which has lost more than 90 percent of its value since being engulfed in an accounting scandal in early December, said Tuesday that payments made to former Chairman Christo Wiese in October and November didn’t follow correct disclosure or governance procedures. The billionaire, Steinhoff’s largest shareholder, denied he did anything wrong when receiving the payments totaling 325 million euros ($400 million).

The JSE’s talks with Steinhoff were earlier reported by Business Insider.

--With assistance from Renee Bonorchis

To contact the reporter on this story: Janice Kew in Johannesburg at jkew4@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stefania Bianchi at sbianchi10@bloomberg.net, Vernon Wessels, Renee Bonorchis

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