Private equity firm Bain Capital has agreed a debt for equity swap deal valued at $1.5 billion for Edcon, the chief executive of the South African clothes retailer said on Tuesday.

Taken private in a highly leveraged 25 billion rand (or $3.5 billion at the time) buyout by Bain 2007, Edcon has struggled to grow at a fast enough rate to pay down debt.

“We have been living beyond our means, expenditure was more than our income,” CEO Bernie Brookes told a news conference.

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