Steinhoff International and the Stock Exchange

By: Siko Sikochi and Austin Lim

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Synopsis: Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. was a holding company, whose subsidiaries manufactured, distributed and sold furniture and household products. Steinhoff was widely known as a South African company because it first listed on the South African Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and its global headquarters was in South Africa. However, Steinhoff went on to expand from distribution and manufacturing to retail businesses across 30 countries, employing over 130 thousand people. As its global revenues grew, especially in Europe, Steinhoff created a new holding company, Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. incorporated in the Netherlands and with a primary listing in Germany and secondary listing on the JSE. Steinhoff was soon mired in allegations and investigations of accounting misrepresentations, and came crashing on December 6, 2017 after admission of possible accounting irregularities. The case is set days after news broke out about the accounting irregularities and explores the decision of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) on whether to suspend the listing of Steinhoff's securities.