City Slickers: PLANET IN A SPIN.
THINGS just seem to get worse and worse for Planet Hollywood boss Robert Earl.Yesterday, Earl told us exclusively about his grand plan to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US - a move that would keep the company trading and reduce pressure from creditors.
Earl is desperate to keep the creditors at bay after running up 250 million dollars of debt.
But the plan could be in jeopardy. Other shareholders in Planet Hollywood have filed a separate lawsuit to block Earl's plan - if they succeed, the company could be forced into closure.
Planet Hollywood has been a spectacular disaster in the past three years.
Although the London restaurant remains profitable, most of the other 80 across the globe are not.
The company's shares were 30 dollars each when in floated on Wall Street. Now they are worth just 75 cents a go.
If Earl's comeback plan fails, it will be bad news for his many showbiz pals who backed the venture.
Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger received share options in the company worth pounds 300 million in return for promoting it.
Even though those options are worthless, they have been promised new ones in Earl's restructuring plan.
Last night Earl told Slicker: "What I have done is sorted out the problem of 250 million dollars of debt, and now I need everyone's approval.
"I am still confident this plan of mine can go through. If it does, we can be as big as we were three years ago."
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| Title Annotation: | Features |
|---|---|
| Author: | Bhoyrul, Anil; Hipwell, James |
| Publication: | The Mirror (London, England) |
| Date: | Aug 20, 1999 |
| Words: | 251 |
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