WASHINGTON - Regulators are making it easier for Glenfed Inc. to complete its $425 million recapitalization.
The office of Thrift Supervision signed off Wednesday on a plan that would permit the deal to take place with the approval of only 80% of the company's bondholders, instead of the 90% specified in the previous terms.
Stephen J. Trafton, Chairman and CEO of Glendale, Calif.-based Glenfed, the parent of Glendale Federal Bank, said in a statement: "We are quite pleased with the progress to date on all aspects of our recapitalization efforts, and are on track to complete the transactions according to schedule."
"We're having a difficult time finding all the bondholders out there," said Cary J. Stanford, a senior vice president at Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin, a Los Angeles firm that is advising the holding-company bondholders. "We are lowering the acceptance rate because half a Europe is on vacation, and most of these bonds are held in Europe."
Mr. Trafton said, "the response to the exchange offer has been favorable by nearly all of the debenture holders we have been able to identify."
