Takeover battle: Hunkemöller creditors lose out in Dutch court

The Dutch court has rejected the objections of several creditors against the takeover of Hunkemöller. They attempted to reverse the lingerie chain's acquisition by the American company Redwood Capital Management through the court. According to the court, there is insufficient evidence for this. The Dutch case appears to be primarily intended to exert pressure on ongoing proceedings abroad.

Hunkemöller was fully acquired by Redwood, its largest creditor at the time, in March 2025. Other bondholders subsequently took legal action, initiating proceedings in the US, the UK and the Netherlands, among other places.

The lawsuit in the Netherlands is directed against the directors of various private limited companies linked to Hunkemöller. These directors are accused of unlawful conduct concerning the takeover. The creditors are therefore seeking to have the acquisition declared void and to be paid damages. However, the Dutch court finds insufficient evidence for this. It believes the Dutch lawsuit is being used purely as a pressure tactic for the cases abroad.

Hunkemöller's takeover under scrutiny

In 2022, Hunkemöller issued bonds to several parties, including Redwood Capital. Initially, the same conditions applied to all bondholders. However, a new financing deal was struck between Hunkemöller and Redwood in 2024. This so-called 'up-tiering' transaction gave Redwood priority over other creditors, making it the largest bondholder. The remaining bondholders claim they were consequently subordinated, as revealed in court documents.

These other bondholders state that they had previously offered Hunkemöller additional financing on several occasions, but their offers were not accepted. When the up-tiering became apparent, the creditors contacted the Dutch lingerie chain for an explanation and requested that it be reversed. This did not happen, which led to the lawsuit being filed in New York, a case that is still ongoing.

When Hunkemöller was fully transferred to Redwood Capital in early 2025, the other bondholders were also not informed. These parties claim that the transaction price is likely much lower than the lingerie chain's market value, but they have not provided any evidence to support this.

In their statement of defence, Hunkemöller International, Shero Holdco, Shero Midco and the accused directors assert that all transactions were carried out in accordance with applicable foreign law and within contractual agreements. They argue that the creditors involved were aware of the risks and knowingly accepted them. The defence contends that the outcome being disadvantageous for certain bondholders, however disappointing, does not constitute grounds for proceedings against the Hunkemöller group or its directors. The court follows this reasoning and dismisses the creditors' claims.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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