UTi completes big step toward recapitalization

   UTi Worldwide will seek shareholder approval in June to settle in cash two recently closed convertible notes totaling $575 million, a development, the company said, is a “significant step” toward recapitalization.
   “Our refinancing strengthens our balance sheet and allows us to focus on completing our transformation and growing our business,” Eric Kirchner, UTi’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.
   Kirchner added that the company just launched a new freight forwarding system in China, Peru, South Africa and Uruguay, and now has 32 countries representing 72 percent of all its transactions on the 1View system.
   “The deployment in China and South Africa represents another major milestone in the system rollout as it allows us to pair origin and destination shipments in most of our major markets,” he stated. “We remain on track to achieve full deployment by the end of August. The refinancing provides us with greater operating flexibility and allows us to maintain full focus on executing our strategy, achieving value release from our investments and growing ahead of the competition.”