France's scandal-hit Orpea reaches restructuring agreement

PARIS (Reuters) - French nursing care homes company Orpea SA, whose shares lost more than 90% in value last year after charges of malpractice at its homes, said on Wednesday that in principle it had reached a financial restructuring deal with investors.

Orpea said the deal, reached with French state financial institution Caisse des Depots & Consignations (CDC) and other investors, would significantly cut its debts by around 3.8 billion euros ($4.13 billion) and give the company a cash equity injection of 1.55 billion euros.

The main group of investors would hold around 50.2% of Orpea's capital and unsecured financial creditors would own 49.4%, Orpea said in a statement.

Orpea's shares fell by around 93% in 2022 following the publication of a book in France that outlined possible malpractice at its care homes.

French police carried out raids on Orpea care homes last November, while an independent audit had found evidence of financial wrongdoing.

Orpea, whose shares have risen around 15% since the start of 2023, has said it has taken steps to improve its business practices.

($1 = 0.9199 euros)

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)