Eurotunnel hopes to keep bankruptcy at bay

Under the deal, existing shareholders would have a minimum 13% stake in a new company that would make an offer for Eurotunnel's shares early next year.

The move comes nearly three months after the firm was granted bankruptcy protection in a French court.

Creditors will have to vote on the proposals before the end of November.

Eurotunnel, which has a debt mountain of �6.2bn ($11.7bn), will go into administration if the plan is defeated.

'Painful history'

The restructuring plan involves the creation of a new firm, Groupe Eurotunnel, bolstered by a long-term loan of �2.84bn from a consortium of banks including Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and Citigroup.

Groupe Eurotunnel would make an exchange tender offer to current Eurotunnel shareholders and would issue convertible hybrid notes worth nearly �1.3bn.

Eurotunnel boss Jacques Gounon said the plan would allow the company to relaunch from a solid base, adding that it offered the "best possible equilibrium between the demands of the different stakeholders".

"We will have turned the page on 20 years of an often painful history," he said.

Mr Gounon said he believed Eurotunnel was already close to having the necessary majority required to approve the restructuring.

Eurotunnel ran up massive debts during construction of the cross-channel rail tunnel, which opened in 1994.